Living the Legends
by Sammiemoosam
Summary: Ardeth/OC. Ruth is a 22 year old translator currently living in Cairo. She suddenly finds herself in the last place she ever wanted to be with a freed prisoner, her best friend, and her best friend's brother: Hamunaptra. What happens when Ruth crosses swords with a mysterious Medjai Warrior? What does Imhotep want with Ruth? First in the Translated Egyptian Legends.
1. Author's Note

Hey everyone :)

All right, I know you've been waiting for the sequel to _Living the Legends_ for a LONG time, and I promise that it's coming. However, since my writing style has changed from 1st person to 3rd person, I've decided to go back and rewrite and edit this story. I also think Ardeth and Ruth's relationship developed rather... suddenly. So, I will be editing this story into 3rd person and then adding in some original chapters that will further develop the relationship between Ardeth and Ruth.

Thank you all for being so patient with me! I love you all so much:) I'll let you all know when the updates are complete.

-Sammiemoosam


	2. Chapter 1

Hello all! Welcome to my REVISED story based off of the film_, T__he Mummy_. This story will be a revision of that movie. Every chapter will contain scenes from the movie and/or original scenes. Some chapters will be completely movie-based. Other chapters will be completely original. Others will be a mix of the two. This story will be an Ardeth/OC pairing.

My OC is Ruth O'Connell. She is 22 years old and works as a linguist and translator for the British Museum. She currently lives in Cairo and her best friend is Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan. Ruth is shorter, reaching only an inch or two above five feet. She's pretty slim, which sometimes gets her mistaken for a young boy. She has thick black hair that's straight and falls to her lower back. However, it's normally tucked up into a bandana. Her eyes are a rich amber color. She has an olive skin tone as well. She also carries multiple weapons. When she's fully armed, she carries two swords across her back, has on a belt with two guns and four knives, has two more knives down her boots, has a spare revolver tucked underneath her belt, and hides a really small, fine dagger in her hair underneath the bandana.

_"italics"_ will indicate communication in a language other than English or a dream

~)8(~ is a scene break

This story was originally told in 1st person POV, but I have edited it into 3rd person POV

Disclaimer: I do not own _The Mummy_

**A/N:** **This edited chapter was uploaded on April 15, 2016**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Friends and Family**

_1926  
__Cairo_

Ruth O'Connell, a 22-year-old up and coming translator, was walking through the streets of Cairo, Egypt. She was on her way to visit the Museum of Antiquities. That was where a woman named Evelyn Carnahan worked, who just so happened to be Ruth's best friend. Ruth made her way through the bustling streets of Cairo, soon arriving at the museum. Immediately once she was inside the building, she sagged a little. It was much cooler inside the museum than it was outside under the Cairo sun. Ruth headed towards the library, knowing Evie would most likely be in there. She was nearly there when the museum's curator, Dr. Terence Bey, came out of the library, fussing and grumbling. Ruth frowned slightly. What had happened now?

"Ah, Miss O'Connell," Dr. Bey said upon seeing her. His expression lightened up from what it had been before. Ruth debated with herself whether or not to ask what was wrong, but decided against it.

"Hello, Dr. Bey," she replied. The Egyptian man smiled a little, but it soon fell and he gave the woman in front of him a look.

"You know how I feel about weapons in my museum." Ruth couldn't help but smile a little at that.

"I'll leave them in your office, then," Ruth said.

"All of them, Ruth." The woman took her small detour, taking care to leave all of her weapons in Dr. Bey's office before returning to the library. Once she entered it, she realized why Dr. Bey had been in such a sour mood.

The library was an absolute disaster. The normally well-organized and cataloged place was in ruins. All the bookshelves were lying on the ground and books and papers were strewn everywhere. It was as if something knocked down one bookshelf and caused the domino effect. Well, Evie certainly had her work cut out for her straightening this mess out. What had happened anyway? And speaking of Evie…

The tall, bookish brunette was standing in the middle of the mess, seemingly unsure of what to do with herself. Ruth shook her head fondly at her friend. Oh, that girl…

"Now, Evie, I know you're clumsy, but this is reaching all new levels," Ruth said, causing the brunette to jump. Evie soon realized who it was, however, and smiled.

"Ruth!" Evie quickly made her way through the mess and embraced her friend. "How are you?"

"Good, Evie. And yourself?"

"Well…" Evie sheepishly looked at the mess around her. Ruth had to smile and shake her head at her friend again.

"Don't worry. I'm off for a while. I can help out." Evie looked extremely thankful but had no time to say anything because there was a loud clang coming from a nearby room. Ruth frowned. The museum was currently closed and Dr. Bey was clear on the other side of the building. Evie pocketed her glasses and exchanged a look with Ruth before the two made their way into the exhibition room. It was dimly lit, something that Ruth was extremely uncomfortable with, but from what she and Evie could see, they were the only people in the room.

"Hello?" Evie called into the room. Both women grabbed nearby torches and moved further into the room. "Abdul? Mohammad? Bob?" Ruth ignored her friend's calls as she continued to look around the exhibition room. There was a nearby sarcophagus and Evie and Ruth exchanged a look upon seeing it. It was the perfect hiding place for someone pulling a prank. The two women slowly walked over to the sarcophagus. They exchanged another look before leaning forward to look inside it… only to have a mummy jump out at them. Evie and Ruth let out identical shrieks. Evie moved her hands to her head in fright and Ruth nearly dropped the torch because her hands were shaking so bad. The two women suddenly heard laughter and their fright immediately simmered into anger. Jonathan Carnahan, Evie's older brother, was laughing so hard he was wheezing. He sat up from inside the sarcophagus and slung his arm around the mummy as if they were best friends. Yep, definitely a prank.

"Have you no respect for the dead?" Evie scolded as Jonathan continued to laugh.

"Of course I do," he replied. "But sometimes, I'd rather like to join them." Jonathan's voice was laced with a British accent, just like his sister's. Ruth's accent, on the other hand, was American.

"Well, I wish you would do it sooner rather than later before you ruin my career the way you've ruined yours. Now get out!" Evie smacked her brother and he frowned.

"Oh, my dear, sweet, baby sister. I'll have you know, that at this precise moment, my career is on a high note." Ruth rolled her eyes, seriously doubting that. Two years she had known Jonathan and his career had never had a high note. He was the definition of "washed-up".

"Oh, hello, Ruth!" Jonathan greeted cheerfully as he noticed the American woman standing there.

"Hello, Jonathan. Goofing off, I see, as usual." She was giving him a hard time and he knew it. Despite his laziness and sticky fingers, Ruth was fond of him and considered him to be one of her closest friends.

"I'm really not in the mood for you," Evie told her brother. "I've just made a bit of a mess in the library and the Bembridge Scholars have rejected my application form _again_. They say I don't have enough experience in the field." Evie sat down, looking dejected.

"Oh, Evie, why didn't you tell me?" Ruth said sitting down next to her best friend. Evie shrugged.

"I didn't want to bother you."

"You are never a bother to me, Evie." Ruth put her arm around her friend and the two leaned into each other.

"And, you always have me, old mum," Jonathan reassured his sister. He grabbed her hands and Evie smiled. The two leaned their foreheads on each other's while laughing lightly. Ruth had to smile at that, although, it was a little sad. She couldn't help but remember when she had been that close with her older brother.

"Besides," Jonathan continued, "I've just the thing to cheer you up."

"Oh, no, Jonathan. Not another worthless trinket. If I have to take one more piece of junk to the curator to try and… sell for you…" Evie trailed off as she saw the supposed worthless trinket in Jonathan's hand. It was a small, octagonal box-like thing. Ruth's eyes widened considerably upon seeing it and she swiped it from Jonathan's hand before Evie could.

"Where did you get this?" Ruth breathed, staring at the object before her.

"On a dig in, uh… Thebes." Ruth pursed her lips at Jonathan's hesitant answer but didn't say anything. She could deal with him later. She had to make sure this was what she thought it was first. Besides, Evie had had enough disappointment and humiliation for one day.

"My whole life I've never found anything," Jonathan said, "_please_ tell me I found something." Suddenly, the little trinket opened, like a box, due to Ruth pressing a button on its side. Inside was a folded up, aged piece of parchment.

"Jonathan… I think you found something," Evie breathed. Ruth mentally sighed. There was no stopping Evie now. Especially since she was currently opening the parchment, revealing it to be a map of some kind. When she discovered exactly what kind of map it was, Evie insisted on taking the map and trinket to Dr. Bey. Once the three were in the curator's office, Jonathan and Evie stood next to the man's desk as he inspected the map with a skeptical eye and Ruth sat in a nearby armchair.

"You see the cartouche, there? It's the official royal seal of Seti I, I'm sure of it," Evie said to Dr. Bey.

"Perhaps," he merely replied.

"Two questions," Jonathan cut in. "Who the hell was Seti I and was he rich?" Ruth rolled her eyes. Money was one of the only things Jonathan truly cared about.

"He was the second pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty," Evie answered. "Said to be the wealthiest pharaoh of them all."

"Good. That's good. I like this fellow. I like him very much."

"I've already dated the map. It's almost three thousand years old," Evie continued telling Dr. Bey. "And if you look at the hieratic just here… well, it's Hamunaptra." Ruth closed her eyes as Evie spoke about that particular city. She had really been hoping that Evie wouldn't have figured out where the map led. But then again, Evie was smart. _Really_ smart. There was practically no chance she _wouldn't_ figure it out.

"Dear, God. Don't be ridiculous," Dr. Bey scoffed at them all. "We're scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra's a myth told by ancient Arab storytellers to amuse Greek and Roman tourists."

"Yes, yes, I know all the blather about the city being protected by the curse of a mummy nonsense, but my research has led me to believe that the city itself may have actually existed," Evie continued, undeterred by Dr. Bey's skepticism.

"Are we talking about _the_ Hamunaptra?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes," Evie confirmed. "The City of the Dead." Dr. Bey was the only one who noticed as Ruth shivered at those words. There was an excited note in Evie's voice that Ruth did not like. And knowing her best friend, that excited tone meant Evie was already planning an expedition to go find Hamunaptra.

"Where the earliest pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt," Evie continued.

"Yes, yes, in a big underground treasure chamber," Jonathan said. Ruth noticed that Dr. Bey was now holding the map in his hands. It may have just been her, but she could've sworn he was holding the map a little _too_ close to the flame in his lamp.

"Heh," Dr. Bey scoffed as he continued to study the map.

"Oh, come on! Everyone knows the story," Jonathan said. "The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand on Pharaoh's command. The place would disappear beneath the sand dunes, taking the treasure with it."

"As the Americans would say, it's all fairy tales a hokum-Oh, my goodness! Look at that!" Dr. Bey cried. He dropped the map and Ruth saw why. It had caught fire. Evie and Jonathan rushed forward and quickly began patting out the flame, trying to prevent further damage to the map.

"You've burnt it!" Jonathan cried as if Dr. Bey had committed blasphemy. "You've burnt off the part with the lost city!"

"It's for the best, I'm sure," Dr. Bey said, not at all sounding sorry for what had just happened. "Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No one's ever found it. Most… have never returned." Neither Evie nor Jonathan could think of a response, so Ruth stood.

"Well, I think we've taken up enough of Dr. Bey's time. Come on, Evie, Jonathan." Ruth grabbed her weapons in one hand and pushed the siblings out of the curator's office with her other. Ruth didn't stop until the three of them were standing outside the museum. "Spill, Jonathan!"

"Why, Ruth, darling, whatever are you talking about?" Jonathan asked innocently, no doubt trying to weasel his way out of a scolding. Ruth rolled her eyes.

"Bullshit." Jonathan and Evie were surprised. Ruth rarely swore like that. "I know that trinket. I was there when a man I know very well found it. Where. Did. You. Get. It?" Ruth enunciated each of her words in a low voice, letting Jonathan know she was very serious. He was busted.

"It may have… fallen… into my hands…" Code for he stole it. His sister's jaw dropped.

"Jonathan!" Evie shrieked.

"Evie, go get you things. We're going on a little field trip," Ruth told her. Evie nodded and shot Jonathan another glower before going back into the museum to get her things. Ruth turned to Jonathan. "You are going to take us to the man you stole this from. Am I clear, Jonathan Carnahan?" The man gulped and hastily nodded. Satisfied, Ruth nodded, a small smile returning to her face. Then, she began strapping on her weapons. Ruth strapped her twin swords across her back before fastening her belt around her waist. Her belt held four knives and two 9 millimeter pistols. Ruth then stuffed two more knives down her boots and a spare revolver down the back of her pants. She also hid a very fine dagger in her hair, which was currently bunched up under a bandana.

"Do you really need so many weapons?" Jonathan asked Ruth, slightly unnerved at just how many she had on her.

"You know, if you started going on actual digs, you might start carrying a few weapons as well," Ruth replied. Jonathan couldn't really argue with that. _Plus,_ Ruth had to add to herself, _if you had seen what I have, you'd carry even more weapons than I do._ The two waited silently for a few minutes before Evie returned. Then, they were off.

~)8(~

"Come, come. Step over the threshold. Welcome to Cairo Prison, my humble home," Warden Hassan said as he welcomed Evie, Jonathan, and Ruth into the prison. Ruth had to look around in disbelief. The man whom Jonathan had stolen the trinket from was in prison? Ruth shook herself from her thoughts and told Hassan who they were visiting. Jonathan and Evie followed a little bit behind her.

"You told me that you got in on a dig down in Thebes," Evie was hissing to Jonathan.

"Well, I was mistaken," Jonathan replied.

"You lied to me." It wasn't a question. It was an accusation.

"I lie to everybody. What makes you so special?"

"I am your sister."

"Yeah, well, that just makes you more gullible."

"Jonathan, you stole it off a drunk at a local Kasbah!"

"Picked his pocket, actually," Jonathan corrected, sounding proud of himself.

"So, why is this man in prison?" Ruth asked Hassan, effectively stopping the siblings' little spat.

"This I do not know," Hassan admitted. "But when I heard that you were coming I asked him that myself. He said he was just looking for a good time." A few seconds later, the door to the visitor's cell opened and two guards practically dragged in a struggling man. The large man was thrown into the cell. The man's hair was scraggly and long. He was unshaven and dirty. He was tall and muscular, however. He honestly looked like a no-good brute. Ruth sighed and shook her head at the sight of the man. However, there was a fond light in her eye.

"This is… this is the man that you stole it from?" Evie whispered to Jonathan, warily eying the man.

"Yes, exactly, so why don't we just go sniff out a spot of tiffin-"

"Who are you?" the prisoner asked, cutting off Jonathan's attempt to get away. "And who's the broad?" He was looking Evie.

"Broad?"

"I-I'm just a local missionary chap, spreading the good word," Jonathan lied, still trying to weasel his way out of the situation. "But this is my sister, Evie, and her best friend, Ruth."

"How do you do?" Evie greeted. The prisoner merely looked at her, not even sparing Ruth a glance.

"Oh, well. I guess she's not a total loss."

"I beg your pardon," Evie started. She was cut off by a bunch of prisoners making a racket nearby. Hassan excused himself as he went to sort out the situation. The three then turned back to the prisoner. Jonathan whispered something to his sister. Ruth was standing off to the side a bit, still staring at the man. Evie began to address the man.

"Um, we have found… Uh, hello, excuse me." The prisoner looked back at her. "We've found your puzzle box, and we've come to ask you about it." Evie flashed the man a sweet smile that would've worked had it been any other situation.

"No," the man immediately said.

"No?"

"No. You came to ask me about Hamunaptra."

"H-how do you know the box pertains to Hamunaptra?" Evie asked, positively shocked. Ruth decided it was time to speak up.

"Because that's where he was when he found it."

~)8(~

_1923  
__Three Years Earlier_

Rick and Ruth O'Connell took their rifles and began loading them. There was an army heading for them. A battle was coming and they both knew it. The two siblings were currently in the lost city of Hamunaptra, so-called City of the Dead. Their whole garrison had truly believed in the city, so what did they do? They marched across Libya and into Egypt in order to find it. And find it they did. But at a cost. No one had counted on being fought for the city.

Ruth was known as Two (the second O'Connell) to the rest of the garrison. Women weren't allowed in the French Foreign Legion. However, since Rick had believed she was too young to stay on her own, he had managed to convince his commanding officer to let her in. It helped that she was a better fighter than most of the other men in the garrison. In fact, she was such a good fighter and linguist that she was promoted to third-in-command, behind only her brother and the Colonel.

The two siblings finished loading their rifles and took aim. Everyone began to tense at the sound of hooves, but then everyone realized that the hooves were not only behind them, but retreating as well. O'Connell, Ruth, and their Hungarian comrade Beni Gabor looked behind them to see the Colonel fleeing on his horse. Ruth's jaw dropped a little. He was abandoning them. O'Connell, Beni, and Ruth looked at each other.

"You two just got promoted," Beni merely said. The O'Connell siblings looked at each other before returning their attention to the vast desert before them.

"_Prenez vos positions!"_ O'Connell called out in French. Everyone obeyed and took their positions. Ruth double-checked her other weapons before facing Beni.

"You're with us on this one, right?" she hissed to him. Beni was the only other person besides O'Connell and the Colonel who knew about Ruth's being a female. That only made him more afraid of her. O'Connell continued calling out orders.

"Oh, your strength gives me strength," Beni replied. Ruth, satisfied with that answer, returned her attention to the pending battle.

"Steady!" O'Connell yelled. A few seconds later, both of them sighed in exasperation as Beni turned and ran towards where the Colonel had gone. He was also abandoning them. The O'Connell siblings shook their heads in unison, honestly not too surprised, before turning forward. The warriors were getting closer and closer.

"Steady!" They continued to draw nearer and nearer. "Fire!" There was a long string of gunfire and the first row of warriors went down. Ruth quickly reloaded and fired again, making sure to hit the man, not the horse. God knew the poor creature hadn't done anything wrong, not to mention Ruth's soft spot for animals… well, except for camels.

Countless more shots were fired on both sides and soon, Ruth found herself standing and backing up along with the rest of the garrison. A warrior on a brown horse practically charged Ruth, but she managed to shoot him and he slid off the horse. Ruth took advantage of the opportunity and hoisted herself onto the animal before kicking it into a canter. Ruth drew one of her swords and used it to cut down enemy warriors as she looked for her brother. Soon, it seemed hopeless. Nearly everyone was lying dead in the desert sand. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Ruth saw a group of warriors gallop off, their weapons raised, as if they were chasing someone. Ruth hurried off in that direction and found her brother running for his life. Fear flooded Ruth's senses and she pushed her steed faster. Soon, he was trapped between a giant statue and the warriors. Fear pumped through Ruth's entire being. She wasn't close enough. Not yet. She egged her horse faster, but it wasn't enough. A warrior drew a weapon and fired it at O'Connell.

"NO!" Ruth needn't have screamed. The gun was empty. A sigh of relief escaped both O'Connell and Ruth, but she still swooped in and pulled her brother up onto the horse with her. Ruth got ready to ride away when she noticed something. The warriors were scrambling and yelling and fleeing. Ruth and O'Connell exchanged confused looks as the warriors rode off, seemingly frightened beyond all belief. What was that about? Why had they retreated? Then, Ruth noticed the giant, half-buried statue behind them. It was a statue of the jackal-headed god Anubis. And the statue seemed to be whispering. The O'Connell siblings shifted uncomfortably as they stared at the statue and tried to decipher what the whispering was. The horse was uneasy as well and Ruth had a hard time keeping him from rearing. Then, the sand seemed to throw itself at the siblings.

"Whoa!" O'Connell yelled. As more sand seemed to throw itself at them, the horse reared and threw them. Ruth landed in the sand with a grunt and scrambled to her feet, trying to avoid getting hit by it. What the hell was going on! The siblings were pelted with sand over and over again, unable to avoid it. However, they managed to grab hands and drag each other away from the chaos. The O'Connell siblings ran like they'd never run before, not noticing the face appear in the sand behind them.

"Come on, Ruth!" O'Connell yelled. Ruth was fit, sure, but she was a woman, and a short one at that. She was not as fast as him. But she had to try. Ruth pushed herself faster and faster to the point where her entire body was beginning to scream with strain. Ruth gritted her teeth and ran like her life depended on it, and truthfully, after what she had just experienced, she wasn't willing to take the chance. Neither was O'Connell. Neither sibling stopped until Hamunaptra was a solid half mile behind them. And when they did stop, the both of them were practically collapsing with exertion. Ruth collapsed onto the desert floor and O'Connell bent over and leaned on his knees as they tried to catch their breath under the Sahara sun.

"How the hell do you keep that thing on?" Ruth heard. She looked at O'Connell and saw that he was referring to her bandana. Ruth merely shrugged.

"What do we have left?" she asked.

"Bullets," O'Connell answered. "All my guns and knives are gone."

"My swords are gone," Ruth said, "I've got two knives and an empty 9mm. No food. No water." O'Connell nodded and stood to his full height. "Rick." O'Connell looked down at his sister in confusion before following her gaze. On top of a nearby ridge were about a dozen riders robed in black. They were watching them. The O'Connells stared at the men for a few seconds before starting the long journey back to civilization.

~)8(~

Jonathan, Evie, and the prisoner stared at Ruth, surprise very evident on their faces. Ruth was smiling as she stared at the prisoner. She approached the cell and kneeled down before it. She took his hands, which were grasping the cell bars.

"Hey, Rick," she breathed.

"Ruthie," O'Connell whispered. Ruth beamed when she heard Rick's nickname for her.

"Oh, you know I hate that nickname," she fussed, still beaming. The Carnahan's watched as the prisoner's entire demeanor changed. He turned his hands over and grasped Ruth's hands tightly. His tense posture relaxed and his eyes lit up. A smile graced his face, making him look like a completely new man.

"You look like hell," Ruth commented.

"You're beautiful as ever." The two smiled at each other. The prisoner suddenly leaned forward and pressed his lips to Ruth's forehead, making the Carnahans' jaws drop.

"You… you say he was… he was at Hamunaptra," Jonathan choked out, interrupting whatever kind of reunion was going on between the two. "But how do we know that's not a load of pig's wallow?" Ruth turned back to Jonathan, a small glower on her face.

"I was there, too," she said. "Do you really not believe me, Jonathan?" The man quickly shook his head. He hadn't meant to give her the impression he didn't trust her. Ruth was one of his closest friends. Of course he believed her. But… this was _Hamunaptra_. He had to be sure!

"Do I know you?" O'Connell suddenly asked Jonathan.

"No, no. I've just got one of those faces," Jonathan tried. Unfortunately for him, O'Connell remembered him and swiftly punched him in the face. Jonathan fell backward, passed out. The guards inside the cell with O'Connell hit him on the back, making O'Connell wince and Ruth send them her best glare.

"You were actually at Hamunaptra?" Evie said stepping over her brother. Ruth stepped towards the man and gently smacked his face, trying to rouse him.

"Yeah, I was there," O'Connell replied. A smirk grew on his face and Ruth couldn't help but roll her eyes. Rick had always been a flirt. But nothing would stop her from castrating him if he hurt her best friend.

"You swear?" Evie asked.

"Every damn day."

"I didn't mean that-"

"I know. I was there. Seti's place. City of the Dead." O'Connell said the last bit in a sarcastic, dramatic voice.

"Could you tell me how to get there?" Evie asked. There was a bit of commotion behind them and she took off her hat and lowered her voice even more. "I mean, the exact location."

"You want to know?" O'Connell asked her.

"W-well, yes."

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes." O'Connell gestured for her to come closer and she leaned in, only for O'Connell to grab her chin and kiss her… hard.

"Then get me the hell out of here," he hissed. O'Connell stood up and began beating up the guards. "Do it lady! Ruth, get me out of here!" Ruth was powerless to stop the guards as they dragged her brother back into the prison.

"Where are they taking him?" Ruth demanded to Hassan (he had returned at this point).

"To be hanged." Evie had never seen her best friend more afraid than she was in that moment.

"No! RICK!" Ruth practically screamed. Anger then replaced Ruth's fear as she marched towards Hassan and grabbed his collar. "Get me in there!" The poor warden looked frightened by the intensity of Ruth's demand and quickly nodded. Evie quickly followed, still confused as to how Ruth knew this man. Then his name registered to Evie. Rick… Evie gasped aloud and stared at Ruth.

"That _man_ is your brother?!" Ruth looked back at her, her eyes frightened again.

"Yes, and if you don't help me, he's going to die." It didn't take long for the execution to start. O'Connell was marched up to the noose with bound hands, the prisoners yelling and laughing around them. Ruth squeezed Evie's hand, unaware she was doing so. She couldn't look away from her brother.

"I will give you 100 pounds to save this man's life," Evie tried, seeing Ruth was still too shocked and afraid to do anything.

"Madame, I would pay 100 pounds just to see him hanged," Hassan replied.

"2-200 pounds."

"Proceed."

"300 pounds!" The guards tied the noose around Rick's neck, causing Ruth to nearly jump off the platform. Evie only barely managed to hold her friend back. Hassan, a little startled to see how this woman was reacting, was tempted to set the man free simply for the young woman's sake. But still, the execution continued.

"500 pounds!" Evie nearly screamed in an attempt to free her best friend's brother. Hassan heard this and paused the hanging before looking at her.

"And what else?" He began to caress Evie's thigh. "I'm a very lonely man." Evie slapped the man's hand away with her book, causing the prisoners to howl with laughter. Hassan glared and gave the order.

"NO!" Ruth and Evie's screams were deafening, but it was too late. The trap door opened and Rick fell. The rope tightened, but everyone could very clearly see that O'Connell's neck had not broken. But it was hardly over.

"Ha ha!" Hassan yelled, completely unsatisfied. "His neck did not break. Oh, I'm so sorry. Now we must watch him strangle to death." Ruth turned a deathly glare upon the warden, but he didn't seem to notice it.

"He knows how to find Hamunaptra," Ruth suddenly said in a stroke of desperation. Rick would most likely never forgive her for this, but she knew Hassan's type. Money was practically the only thing he cared about. This was the last option. Neither Ruth nor Evie could think of anything else that would save O'Connell's life.

"You lie," Hassan practically hissed.

"You let this man go and he and I will take you there," Ruth offered. Hassan smirked.

"Why would I let him go when it's obvious you could lead me there yourself." Ruth's eyes hardened.

"It's either both of us, or neither one of us. Take your pick."

"Are you telling me this filthy, godless son of a pig knows where to find the City of the Dead? And you do, too?" Hassan asked. Ruth nodded. "Truly?"

"Yes," Evie confirmed. "And if you cut him down we will give you… 10%."

"50%," Hassan haggled.

"20."

"40."

"30."

"25."

"Ha! Deal!" Evie cried in triumph. Hassan sighed, realizing he'd been tricked, but honored the agreement. O'Connell was cut down. Ruth immediately began her descent down to the ground level, Evie not far behind her. When she got down there, O'Connell saw her and his eyes lit up. Ruth practically attached herself to her brother, winding her arms around his neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. O'Connell practically hugged the life out of his sister and spun her around. Evie couldn't help but smile as she watched the reunion. Soon, O'Connell put Ruth down and she smacked him.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! God, you're stupid!" O'Connell raised his eyebrows, amused. "Don't ever do that to me again!"

"I'm sorry, Ruthie. I'm alive, though. You can calm down." Ruth smiled and rolled her eyes fondly at her brother before hugging him again.

"Two and a half years, Rick," she said after pulling away. "It's been two and half years since we've seen each other. Promise me we'll never go that long again."

"Promise." Ruth smiled and O'Connell returned it. Then, he threw his arm around his sister's shoulders. The O'Connell siblings were reunited.

* * *

Hey everyone! I hoped you liked the heavily edited and revised chapter of this story. I really hope it's not too different for you guys! Let me know what you all think :)

Cheerio!


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: The edited and revised version of this chapter was uploaded on April 15, 2016**

* * *

**Chapter 2: A Day With Ruth**

_The Next Day  
__Cairo_

Ruth hadn't realized how much she had missed her brother's snoring until it had kept her up most of the night. Soon after Rick's failed execution, he had been released from the prison. He'd gathered his personal effects and Ruth had taken him back to her apartment, insisting that he stay with her until the time for them to leave for Hamunaptra came. Luckily, she had a guest room in her flat. Not that it mattered. She would've given Rick the bed even if she hadn't had a guest room. He deserved it after what he'd just been through.

Ruth, as usual, got up just after dawn. She had always been an early riser. Judging by O'Connell's snores, he wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon. Not that that surprised Ruth. He had always been a heavy sleeper. As Ruth sat down with her breakfast, she realized that not only did she have her brother back, but the two of them were going back to Hamunaptra.

Joy.

With a sigh, Ruth flipped open the notebook she used as a planner and began filling in things for today. First things first, Rick needed a haircut. Badly. Ruth made a mental note to leave him some money in case she was gone when he woke up. She also needed to go down to the port and see if there were any boats leaving anytime soon. They couldn't get to Hamunaptra without transport from Cairo. Then, though she could do this over the course of a few days, she needed to stock up on supplies and help Evie and Jonathan do the same. This was Evie's first expedition and while the girl was smart, Ruth wanted to be sure the girl didn't pack too much or leave anything important behind. Ruth glanced up from her planner briefly when she heard Rick snort from the guest room. However, she had to laugh when his snores resumed a few seconds later.

Ruth saw she had one thing scheduled for today besides what she had just written. She was to meet a woman by the name of Sophia to discuss a possible job. Ruth normally didn't do private consultations and such, but to be honest, Ruth wasn't exactly swamped at the moment. So she figured… what the hell? As a translator, she liked to keep busy. It meant her skills never went rusty. Ruth glanced at her clock and noticed that there were still several hours before she had to meet Sophia for lunch. She wasn't much in the mood for reading, and she knew Evie probably wasn't up yet, let alone Jonathan. In the end, Ruth decided to stop by the port before going to browse the nearby bazaar, see if there was anything she could get before the trip. Ruth left a quick note and some money for Rick before grabbing some weapons (two knives for her boots, the one in her hair, and her revolver) and slung a bag over her shoulder before leaving. Seeing as Ruth didn't have a car, it took a bit longer than normal to get to the Giza Port, but not too long. Ruth quickly inquired about a boat and she was surprised to find that there was indeed one in a week's time. Seeing as it was a small boat with only a few spots left, Ruth decided to book two cabins right then and there, one for her and Evie and the other for O'Connell and Jonathan.

A little bit later, Ruth had to sigh. Well, with that done, now it was time to head to the bazaar. Ruth adjusted the strap of her bag as she set off again.

It took Ruth about 15 minutes to get to the bazaar. Like always, it was busy and absolutely bursting with customers and tourists. Once again, Ruth adjusted the strap of her bag before walking down the first row of stalls. She walked through two rows, passing stalls of silks and scarves and cloth, jewelry, wooden sculptures, even kitchen essentials, before she came upon a stall selling spices and teas. Ruth didn't exactly do much cooking, but spices were a good way to spruce up a meal while out on a dig or expedition. Plus, spices could help preserve food. Ruth bought a decent amount and placed the spices in her bag before moving on. Next, she bought a healthy supply of dried fruits and an even healthier supply of dried meats. They would keep for a long time, and since Ruth didn't know exactly how long they would be staying at Hamunaptra, it was a good idea to bring a lot of non-perishables. Ruth glanced at the small watch on her wrist. There were still two hours before she had to meet Sophia.

Ruth continued to browse the bazaar, admiring silk scarves and leather belts, smelling fresh coffee and baked goods, listening to live music and the surrounding chitter-chatter. Ruth eventually bought herself some more candles and a fresh pack of ink powder, but didn't buy anything else. She knew there would be no ammo here, but Ruth reminded herself to stock up on ammunition as well. However, there was a stall selling knives ranging from little pocket knives to large hunting knives. While Ruth didn't really need any more knives (she had a not-so-small collection of them at her home), she enjoyed looking at the craftsmanship. Ruth was admiring a 6-inch blade with a mahogany hilt with pure gold trim when she felt someone watching her. Ruth furrowed her eyebrows and looked up and around the bazaar. Finally, Ruth's gaze fell upon an elderly Egyptian woman. The woman was staring right back at Ruth, a little smile gracing her face. As kind as the woman looked, her smile and stare definitely unnerved Ruth. So, the translator set down the knife she was admiring and excused herself. She was hoping to calmly and quietly slip past the woman's jewelry booth, but no such luck. The woman had actually moved to stand in front of Ruth, preventing her from going any further. The woman's smile had widened. She took Ruth's hand before the American could bolt and gently patted it.

"Ah, have I got the necklace for you," the woman said. She then let go of Ruth's hand and reached for something underneath her booth.

"Um… thank you, but I'm not interested," Ruth said politely, just trying to get away.

"But surely… a beautiful necklace for the beautiful desert butterfly." Ruth didn't know why, but a shiver ran through her as the woman called her "desert butterfly." She'd never been called such a thing before, but… something about those words… they made her stop dead. Hesitantly, Ruth looked back over her shoulder and saw the woman holding a delicate necklace in her hands.

The chain was delicate and gold, but that's not what caught Ruth's attention. The charm was seemingly carved out of pure gold leaf, delicately held together. It was a four-winged butterfly with an even smaller butterfly sitting upon the upper right wing. It was… beautiful. It took Ruth's breath away. So much so that she was extremely tempted to purchase the necklace. Then, Ruth had to shake herself. With her life, she'd be lucky if the necklace didn't break within a week. And she surely couldn't afford something so beautifully and carefully crafted.

"Thank you," Ruth said again. "But truly, I'm not interested." Ruth turned to walk away again, but the vendor's words once again stopped her.

"Things that are meant to be cannot be prevented. They always find a way." Ruth glanced at the woman again, unsure what to make of her words. The woman's smile had become kinder, wiser, but before Ruth could ask what she meant, her normal smile returned. "I'll hold this in case you change your mind." Ruth stared at the woman for a moment more before grasping the strap of her bag and walking away.

As soon as Ruth had gone, a man came up and took her spot next to the booth. He had seen the entire exchange between the two women.

_"How much for the necklace?"_ The Arabic rolled off his tongue before he could stop himself. The vendor noticed as the man glanced in the direction Ruth had disappeared in. A mischievous gleam lit her eyes and a light smile covered her face. Soon, the deal was made. The man had no idea what had _possessed_ him to buy the necklace. It certainly was beautiful, but it's not like he knew the woman and could gift it to her. But… as he stared at the necklace, he couldn't help but think that it was… _meant_ for that woman. He couldn't shake the feeling. So, carefully pocketing the jewelry, the man vowed that he would find a way to give it to the woman.

~)8(~

At 11:30am, Ruth found herself sitting at a little table in a local restaurant. Sophia had asked Ruth to meet her here in her last correspondence. Ruth had been waiting for about five minutes, but then again, she had been slightly early. Ruth had gotten away from the bazaar fairly quickly after the encounter with the jewelry vendor. Then, she had gone home and dropped off her purchases before changing into more professional clothing. While Ruth knew this was a private consultation and not exactly a professional setting, she still wanted to give her client a good impression. Ruth didn't have to wait long. Within two more minutes, a tall, dirty blonde woman with olive skin came towards Ruth.

"Miss O'Connell?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, that's me. And please, just call me Ruth."

"Oh, good!" Sophia breathed in relief. "I was worried I was going to walk up to a complete stranger." Ruth smiled and laughed lightly as Sophia sat down. Within seconds of her sitting down, a young waiter came and took their drink orders. Once he had gone, Sophia addressed Ruth.

"I want to thank you for taking the time to do this for me and my family. I'm sure you're busy." Ruth smiled.

"It's no trouble at all. Especially because I'm not really all that busy right now," Ruth told Sophia with a small wink. The woman laughed.

"Oh, lucky for me then!" The two women laughed a little. Not long after, the waiter returned with their drinks: an herbal tea for Sophia and coffee for Ruth.

"Now, what can I do for you?" Ruth asked Sophia after the waiter took their food orders. Sophia pulled her bag onto her lap and rifled through it.

"I'm correct in that you know Ancient Greek, correct?" Ruth nodded. "Well, my family recently found these in our family home. They were stuffed inside an old bureau in the attic." Sophia pulled out an incredibly thick stack of papers tied together with twine. She set the stack on the table and upon further inspection, Ruth found it was a stack of letters.

"My family is incredibly Greek," Sophia explained. "We have roots all the way back to Ancient Greece. These only further prove that. The only thing we know is that they're between my great-great-great-great-however many greats whatevers." Ruth laughed a little. "No one in the family knows Ancient Greek, so we began looking for translators. I know Cairo is an extremely popular place for archaeologists and linguists so… I began asking around at museums and Dr. O'Hara at the Museum of Egyptian Treasures recommended you." Ruth's eyebrows rose considerably at that. She knew that someone had referred Sophia to her, but she hadn't known it was Dr. O'Hara. He was an older Irish man who loved Egypt and its history with all his heart and soul. He'd been one of the only people to give Ruth a chance with some translating jobs. He'd been highly impressed with her and he was the one who got Ruth her job with the British Museum. Next time she saw Dr. O'Hara, she'd have to thank him for helping her get work.

"Will you help me?" Sophia asked. The woman was biting her bottom lip and her eyes were wide and desperate. Ruth smiled.

"Of course." Sophia immediately sagged with relief. "It might take a few weeks, but-"

"Take as long as you need," Sophia assured Ruth. "Thank you so much for doing this." Ruth smiled and nodded. Soon, their food arrived and the woman began chatting away aimlessly.

"So what brought you to Cairo?" Sophia asked.

"I grew up here actually." Sophia frowned.

"You sound American." Ruth smiled.

"I am. I… my brother and I were orphaned at a pretty young age and we were raised in an orphanage here in Cairo."

"Oh, Ruth, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. Please forgive me," Sophia started with sad eyes and a rushed desperation for forgiveness. Ruth waved her off and laughed lightly.

"That's all right. We turned out just fine." For the most part, but Ruth didn't voice this. "It was there I learned about my affinity for languages. While my brother never took the time to learn Arabic, I did, and my curiosity for other languages was spiked. I read anything I could get my hands on and practiced every day until I was fluent in Ancient Egyptian as well as English and Arabic. I've only progressed from there."

"Wow, Ruth, that's amazing," Sophia complimented while taking a bite of the salad that had just been placed on the table for her. Ruth also began to dig into her meal: Shawarma.

"So what about you?" Ruth asked Sophia. "What's your family like?"

"Well, I've got two older brothers and an older sister. I'm the youngest," Sophia said. Ruth smiled, able to relate to the feeling of being the younger sibling. "My older brothers are twins, Tait and Tanner. My sister, Kallista, is two years younger than them. I'm three years younger than her."

"Big family," Ruth commented.

"Oh, you have no idea," Sophia said laughing. The two women continued to share about each other as they ate. The both of them were waiting for their checks when a familiar face caught Ruth's eye. It was Dr. Bey. And he was with a man Ruth had never seen before.

"Miss O'Connell," he greeted politely as he passed her table.

"Dr. Bey," Ruth replied just as politely. The man and his companion sat down at a table a little behind the women.

"Oh, wow," Sophia breathed.

"What?" Ruth asked in confusion.

"Did you see that guy?" Sophia was staring at Dr. Bey's companion with a slightly awed look on her face. But then, her mouth curled into a smirk. "He was totally staring at you!" Ruth nearly choked.

_"What?"_

"No, I'm serious! He was looking at you!" Against her better judgement, Ruth slowly looked over her shoulder. Dr. Bey's companion's back was facing them, luckily for Ruth (she didn't exactly want to be caught staring). She couldn't see his face. From what she could see, he was Egyptian, tall, and muscular. He was dressed in long black robes with a grey sash around his waist. He wore sturdy boots as well. There were tattoos on the backs of his hands and his hair was long, wavy, and black.

"No, he wasn't," Ruth eventually concluded. Sophia smiled.

"Go say hello."

"Why?"

"Why not? He's attractive! Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"So jump on that while you can!" Ruth's face flushed bright red.

"Sophia! Dr. Bey is the curator of the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. I need him to like and respect me. He definitely won't if I suddenly start coming onto his friend." Sophia giggled at Ruth's red face.

"Well… you _are_ still pretty young. I guess I'll let it go… for now." Ruth smiled and shook her head at the woman fondly. Sophia smiled as well and the two women laughed a little. Not five minutes later, the two women were saying goodbye to each other and heading their separate ways out of the restaurant. Sophia had given Ruth the name of her hotel and the telephone number for the hotel. Ruth, in turn, gave Sophia her landline number, but warned Sophia that she would be leaving on an expedition in a week. Ruth debated whether to bring Sophia's letters with her, but eventually decided against it. Who knew what could possibly happen out at Hamunaptra? Ruth wasn't willing to take the chance with something as precious as the letters. Luckily for her, Ruth had plenty of spare rolls of film. Maybe she could photograph the letters and take the photos with her. Ruth wrote that down in her planner as a TO-DO item for tomorrow and walked back to her flat. When she got there, she found that Rick was gone, along with the money she had left him.

Ruth collapsed onto the couch, already ready to call it a day. Evie and Jonathan could wait until tomorrow. A nap wouldn't hurt. So, Ruth fell asleep, the daunting prospect of her upcoming expedition to Hamunaptra hovering over her.

* * *

Hey all! Here's the second of the edited and revised chapters! I hope you like it!

**Reviews (reviews I never got a chance to answer before)**

NicoleR85: I'm glad you liked the story before. I really hope you continue to like it as I load edited and revised chapters :)  
dutchangel1979: Ugh! I'm so awful! I finished the story SO long ago and I still haven't given you all the sequel. I really hope these revised chapters will be enough until I can get the new content up there. Thank you so much for all your support :)  
Cookiecoolcat: I'm SO sorry for the extremely long wait for this story. I promise that the edited and revised chapters will come out fairly quickly. I won't keep you waiting for quite as long. I hope you like it :)  
Lauren Kassidy: Did I tell you that I was planning to revise this story? I don't remember... Anyway, I am! Let me know your thoughts, as your support means so much to me. By the way, LOVED the recent update with your Star Wars story. I'm _really_ enjoying it! Promise I'll PM soon (as soon as school gives me a break xD). Thanks, Lauren!  
LoverXxofxXReading: Hey there :) I'm glad you liked the story! And while I know you're looking forward to the sequel, it won't be out until I finish editing and revising this story. Oh, and did you see, my Captain America story is up! It's not finished, but I hope you'll give it a read and tell me what you think. Thank you for all your support :)  
ArisuTamaZuki: Yes, there will be a sequel. There may even be two sequels (depending on whether or not I'll feel like writing an original story). I'm glad you liked this story :)  
Guest: Oh, thank you for your lovely reviews :) I hope you continue to like this story as I upload edited and revised chapters!  
Tiryn: I'm literally a TERRIBLE person. It's been way too long for my not to give you a sequel. I've just been having trouble continuing this story in 1st POV, so I decided to go back and edit and revise this story before posting the sequel. I hope you can wait just a little while longer :)  
LeopardFeather: I'm glad you liked the story :) I hope you like it now that it's changing a bit. Don't worry, the sequel is coming, I just have to revise this story first! Thank you for all your support :)  
hazu23: Yes, I am doing a sequel, and it is perfectly okay if you are demanding one :) There will definitely be one, I just have to bring this story up to par first. Thank you for your lovely review and all your support :)  
reena4591: I am definitely doing a sequel based off of _The Mummy Returns_. I just... I'm not satisfied with where I left this story. I will be editing and revising all the chapters in this story and even adding some in before I start posting the sequel. Thank you so much for you support and your lovely review :)  
CuppaTea13: Well, to answer your confusion (I hadn't realized that hadn't been in the story before), Rick and Ruth haven't spoken in two and a half years because after what happened at Hamunaptra, they both had to deal with it in their own way. So, the eventually went their separate ways. It didn't help that Ruth got her job with the British Museum and rotates between London and Cairo every six months. Eventually, they just lost contact :( Sad, I know. I really couldn't image not talking to my brother for two and a half years either. Oh, and to answer your question about Amunet... Imhotep decided to use both Ruth and Evie as sacrifices for Amunet and Anck-su-namun because he recognized them as Kamilah and Nefertiri. He wants revenge on those two women so he decided to use their reincarnations as his sacrifices. Hope that clears things up :) Also, I decided to have Kamilah's father be against her getting married simply because I wanted Ardeth and Ruth's love to be all the more meaningful. I mean, not only did they fall in love in both of their lives, but they weren't able to be together in their first, so it makes their second lives together more special. And yes, Ardeth is completely drool-worthy isn't he ;) I'm glad you liked this story! Your reviews really made me smile :) Thank you for all your support and I hope you like the revised and edited chapters!  
Guest: I AM doing the other movies, just not yet. I have to finish editing and revising this story first. I'm glad you liked this story and I hope you continue to like it as I edit and revise things :)  
OliviaSteele: Oh, wow, I didn't know that about Susan Travers. Thank you for telling me! That was really interesting! Also, I know sis-fics are very common, and it's definitely a short-cut for authors, but I really, really love Rick and I could easily imagine him being a very protective older brother. It just seemed to... fit for this fic. I hope you liked it in the end, and even if you didn't, that's okay too. I have Ruth carrying weapons because she practically grew up on the streets in a rough part of Cairo. She learned to defend herself very early on in her life. Not only that but as a military woman, she got used to being armed. And after the first time she was at Hamunaptra... paranoid might be an appropriate word of Ruth in this situation. Also, I've decided that she meets Evie at the Museum of Antiquities when Ruth was brought in the look at some incoming artifacts. From then on, she and Evie became friends and from there she met Jonathan. I hope hat clears up some things for you :) Thank you for your reviews! I really enjoyed them :)  
Guest: I'm glad you liked the story :) I hope you continue to like it as I upload the edited and revised chapters!  
MissWelshForever: I'm glad you liked the story :) There will be a sequel coming soon, I just have to finish with this story first. It just wasn't sitting right with me and after re-reading it, I decided that I needed to edit and revise it. Thank you for all your support :)  
GingerSpice-8675309: I'm glad you understand :) It really is hard for be to build up a true relationship between Ardeth and an OC and make it not seem forced or rushed or anything. I will be adding original material though and I'm really excited to see how it turns out. You know, I did consider lengthening the time they spend at Hamunaptra, but I don't think I will. Yes, realistically, they would be at the dig for a few weeks and not a few days. But... I think that's part of the story and curse of Hamunaptra. They get there and then BAM! Disaster strikes. I think it would take away from the dramatic element a bit if I lengthened the time spent in Hamunaptra. Thank you for the suggestion though :) I'm glad you like the story, and I hope you continue to like it as I upload the revised and new content!

Cheerio!


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on April 15, 2016**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Hamunaptra... Again**

_One Week Later  
__Giza Port_

A few days later, Jonathan, Evie, and Ruth were walking through the Giza Port, packed and ready for the adventure to Hamunaptra. Thanks to Ruth booking those last minute tickets, they were pretty much all set. The Carnahans carried two large suitcases with them, fairly minimal for the pair of them. Ruth carried a large rucksack full of three extra sets of clothing, a jacket, a thick cloak, an extra pair of boots, a bedroll, a blanket, rope, tools, some medicine and first aid supplies, two canteens of water, plenty of rations, and ink and paper and the photographs of Sophia's letters. She wore her twin swords across her back and her belt with four knives and two 9mm pistols. She still had the two daggers down her boots, the fine dagger in her hair (still underneath a bandana), and the revolver tucked under her belt. She had four extra knives and lots and lots of ammo in her rucksack. Her shotgun was tied to the bottom of her pack.

"Do you really think he's going to show up?" Evie was asking Jonathan about O'Connell. She hadn't seen him at all over the past week. And despite Ruth's reassurances that he was coming, she still had her doubts.

"Yes, undoubtedly, knowing my luck," Jonathan said. "He may be a cowboy, but I know his breed. His word is his word. Same as Ruth."

"Well, personally, I think he's filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel. I don't like him one bit," Evie bit out.

"Anyone I know?" Evie and Jonathan whirled around to see O'Connell standing there, identical looks of amusement on his and Ruth's faces. O'Connell was clean and shaven. He had gotten that haircut and instead of looking like a brute, he now looked like a respectable gentleman. Not that he was, but all the same.

"Oh. Um, hello," Evie breathed. Ruth had to quietly snicker at the look on her best friend's face. It was safe to assume she had been expecting the dirty prisoner and not the groomed man.

"Smashing day for the start of an adventure, eh, O'Connell?" Jonathan cut in. The two men shook hands and O'Connell smiled nervously.

"Smashing," O'Connell replied dryly while reaching into his jacket pocket to make sure his wallet was still there.

"Oh, no, no, I'd never steal from a partner… partner," Jonathan reassured him.

"That reminds me. No hard feelings about the, uh…" O'Connell mimicked a punch.

"Oh, no, no. Happens all the time." Understatement of the year.

"Mr. O'Connell," Evie started, "can you look me in the eye and guarantee this isn't some sort of flimflam? Because if it is, I am warning you-"

"You're warning me?" O'Connell practically scoffed at the woman. "Lady, let me put it this way. Our whole damn garrison believed in this so much that without orders, we marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city. And when we got there, all we found was sand and blood." Evie looked visibly shaken at O'Connell's words. "Let me get your bags." With that, O'Connell picked up the Carnahan's suitcases and boarded the boat, Evie staring at him the entire way.

"Yes, yes, you're right. Filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel. Nothing to like there at all." With that, Jonathan followed O'Connell onto the boat.

"Look, Evie," Ruth started, making her best friend look at her, "I know you don't trust Rick, but trust me. This isn't some kind of trick." Evie looked down.

"I'm sorry, Ruth, I just-"

"I know." Evie hesitated before asking her next question.

"What happened there? When you were at Hamunaptra?" Ruth bit her lip just thinking about the events from three years ago.

"Someday I'll tell you," Ruth promised. Evie nodded, respecting Ruth's decision and realizing that it was _bad_ if Ruth, one of the most open people she knew, wasn't willing to talk about it.

"I still can't believe _that's_ your brother!" Evie cried, effectively changing the subject. Ruth burst out in a hearty laugh. "I mean, you look nothing alike!" It was true. The siblings shared similar personality traits. Both were smart, but while O'Connell was more street-smart, Ruth was more book-smart. However, both siblings came across as kind of rugged since they both carried weapons all the time. They both practically oozed sarcasm and the two had gotten into some funny arguments because of it. However, despite them sharing personality traits, the two looked nothing alike. O'Connell was well over six feet with a strong build. He had brown hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. Ruth was barely over five feet tall and was rather slim, so much so that she was sometimes mistaken as a young boy. Her hair was thick, straight, and black while her eyes were a warm amber. And while O'Connell was tan, Ruth possessed a true olive skin tone which O'Connell told her she'd inherited from her mother.

"We really don't look anything alike, do we?" Ruth agreed with a small laugh. Evie laughed as well before abruptly stopping.

"Oh, no, what are you doing here?" she demanded. Ruth frowned in confusion before following her gaze. Evie was addressing the warden Hassan.

"I'm here to protect my investment, thank you very much," he merely said. He was wearing travel clothes and had a pack in his hand. Hassan walked up the gangplank, leaving the two women standing there. Ruth frowned a little. She hadn't counted on Hassan joining them. However, there wasn't really anything they could do about it. So, the two women followed behind him onto the boat.

~)8(~

That night, Ruth was sitting at a table on the deck. She was starting her translation of Sophia's letters. Evie sat across from her reading. However, the brunette noticed that her friend was squirming and unfocused. Strange for Ruth.

"Are you okay?" Evie asked. Ruth merely scowled at what was behind her: camels. "Right. I forgot that you hate camels."

"Ever since I was 10 and almost got trampled by a herd of those things," Ruth confirmed, reminding Evie of what happened to make her hate the normally gentle animals. Ruth tried to focus on her work, but after a few more minutes of squirming, she gave up. "I'm going to find Rick." Evie nodded and Ruth packed up the photographs and paper. Ruth quickly dropped her supplies back in her cabin before venturing out to find Rick and explore the boat. Towards the bow, Ruth found Jonathan sitting at a table with three other men.

"Ruth!" Jonathan called upon seeing her. He waved her over, leaving the woman no choice but to come greet him. As she approached the table, she noticed that the men were playing poker. "Ruth, this is Bernard Burns, Isaac Henderson, and David Daniels. And that's Dr. Allen Chamberlain." Ruth looked around the table at the men. The first three were American. Burns was dark-haired and wore glasses. He actually looked fairly amiable. Henderson was blonde and looked like a typical cowboy. Daniels was dark-haired and seemed to have a permanent smirk on his face. Dr. Chamberlain was sitting apart from them smoking a hookah. He barely spared Ruth a glance.

"Gentlemen," Ruth greeted politely while shaking their hands.

"Would you like to join us, Ruth?" Jonathan offered.

"Not much of a gambler to be honest," Ruth politely declined. The men merely shrugged and nodded.

"So what brings a pretty girl like you out here?" Henderson asked Ruth. The girl mentally rolled her eyes. Not two minutes he'd known her and he was already flirting.

"Call it curiosity and an adventurous spirit." Henderson smirked.

"Well, that's-" Whatever Henderson was about to say next was cut off by Jonathan.

"O'Connell!" Ruth imperceptibly sighed with relief as her brother came over, effectively ending Henderson's current attempt to flirt with Ruth.

"Quit playing with your glasses and cut the deck, would you, Burns?" Daniels was complaining. Burns merely continued cleaning his glasses as he addressed his friend.

"Without my glasses, I can't see the deck to cut it, can I, Dave?"

"O'Connell, sit down, we could use another player," Jonathan said.

"No, I only gamble with my life, never my money," O'Connell replied.

"Never?" Daniels asked with raised eyebrows. "Well, what if I was to bet the two of you $500 we get to Hamunaptra before you?" O'Connell and Ruth glanced at each other.

"You're looking for Hamunaptra?" O'Connell asked.

"Damn straight, we are," Henderson replied.

"And who said we are?"

"He does." All three Americans said this at the same time with matching fingers pointing towards Jonathan. O'Connell and Ruth fixed him with matching unamused looks.

"Well-" Jonathan tried.

"Well, how about it?" Daniels cut in. "Is it a bet?" The O'Connell siblings looked at each other.

"You're on," Ruth said. The Americans smiled.

"What makes you so confident, miss and sir?" Dr. Chamberlain asked, looking up from his hookah pipe and book.

"What makes you?" O'Connell shot back.

"Well, we got us a man who's actually been there," Henderson said with a smirk.

"Oh, what a coincidence, because-" Jonathan stopped talking when he saw Ruth's famous glare.

"Gentlemen, we got us a wager," O'Connell said. "Good evening. Jonathan." O'Connell squeezed his shoulder _hard_ as a warning and Ruth shot him one last glower before the siblings turned and walked off. Ruth went back into her cabin, hoping to finally get some work done on the letters. Ruth barely noticed as Evie entered the cabin and began getting ready for bed. She didn't really notice that Evie seemed strangely flustered either. Ruth eventually became so engrossed in reading and translating the letters that she didn't notice there was an intruder in the cabin until Evie shrieked. Immediately Ruth drew one of her guns and whirled around, cocking it. Ruth momentarily froze upon seeing the man. He was garbed in black robes, but that's not what caught her attention. The man had a hook for a hand. He had pushed Evie up against the wall and was holding his hook against her cheek threateningly.

"Release her," Ruth demanded after shaking off her shock. The man merely turned to her.

"Where is the key?" He seemed completely unperturbed by the gun pointing at him.

"The key, the key… What key?" Evie asked. Ruth furrowed her eyes in confusion. Neither woman had any idea what the hook-man was talking about.

"Ruth! Evelyn!" O'Connell suddenly burst through the door, two of his guns drawn. The hook-man immediately moved away. O'Connell and Ruth began to shoot at him, but another man burst through the cabin window. Ruth quickly shot him. O'Connell dragged Evie from the room, still shooting. It was only then they realized a candle had fallen, setting the room on fire. Ruth quickly grabbed her still packed rucksack and her work. Ruth looked up briefly to shoot an incoming bandit. Ruth quickly threw everything of Evie's she could see in her suitcase and grabbed it. Ruth shot one more incoming bandit before running from the room.

"Wait! The map! Ruth, where's the map?!" Evie cried as she saw Ruth coming from the room.

"Relax. We're the map," O'Connell assured her. He pointed to his head. "It's all up here."

"Oh, that's comforting." Ruth quickly placed her work inside a large folder.

"Thank God for plastic," she muttered. If those men were all over the ship, there was no way they were making it out of this unless they jumped. She wasn't going to have her work ruined because a group of bandits decided to raid their boat. Ruth shouldered her pack and thrust Evie's suitcase into her hands. "Rick, get her out of here." Ruth then took out another one of her guns and ran off.

The entire ship was under attack and everyone was panicking. Well… The Americans looked like they were having fun, actually. Passengers and crew members everywhere began jumping over the side and into the water. More bandits appeared and began setting the boat on fire. Horses were neighing and escaping from their stalls. It was pure chaos. Ruth managed to take down a few more bandits before she was knocked to the ground and practically dragged overboard. It was only once she was in the water did she realize a horse had run into her. The poor creature began panicking in the water. Seeing that there was no way to get back on the boat, Ruth began to help the poor thing across the Nile. It took some time because the horse was struggling, but they eventually made it. Only a minute later, O'Connell appeared on the riverbank with Evie, Jonathan, and Hassan.

"We've lost everything!" Evie cried. "All of our tools, all the equipment. All my clothes." Ruth frowned.

"I gave you your suitcase," she said. Evie suddenly scowled at O'Connell. Ruth inferred that something must've happened between when she'd left them and now. Ruth opened her mouth to comfort Evie when an eerily familiar voice cut her off.

"O'Connell!" It was Beni. "Hey! O'Connell! It looks to me like I've got all the horses!" Well, except for the one Ruth had rescued.

"Hey, Beni! It looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!" O'Connell yelled back. Ruth saw Beni kick the water in utter frustration as he realized that he was, in fact, on the wrong side of the Nile.

"I cannot believe that little weasel survived," Ruth practically growled. O'Connell nodded in agreement before turning to her.

"Are you okay? I know how you feel about rivers, especially this one." Ruth nodded. When she was 15, she had nearly drowned in this river. Ever since then, she'd had a strong aversion to it. In all honesty, she'd been too focused on not getting shot or not catching on fire that it hadn't truly mattered that this was the Nile.

"I'm okay," Ruth assured her brother. "Well, we've got the horse here, but we're going to need some more or some camels if we want to get to Hamunaptra. Not to mention we have to replenish the supplies we lost." O'Connell nodded and the five soon began trekking towards the nearest town.

~)8(~

It was two days later when the five found themselves ready to truly begin their journey for Hamunaptra. They'd arrived in a town late in the night and had spent the last day resting and replenishing their supplies. The next day, Ruth was getting the horse, which she had named Nile, ready for the journey through the desert. O'Connell and Jonathan were haggling for some camels and Hassan was nowhere to be seen. Ruth tied her pack to Nile's saddle before placing some of her weapons in his saddle bags. She kept her swords and belt on, though. She soon finished and led Nile over to where O'Connell and Jonathan were. They had finally managed to snag four camels. It was only then Ruth realized her best friend was finally ready. Evie had gone off in search of some clothing this morning. She was wearing a brand new black gown with a matching hood and veil. She looked stunning… as usual. Ruth had to smirk at the expression on her brother's face. Rick was staring at Evie like she was a whole new person. It was much like how Evie had stared at him when she saw him for the first time at the Giza Port. It was painfully obvious how smitten the two were with each other. Soon, everything was loaded onto the camels and Hassan was found. They were traveling by mid-morning.

The journey was extremely long and lasted through the night. Ruth rode in the back of their single file line while O'Connell rode in the front. Most of the journey was silent, the only noise being either Hassan's singing or Evie and Ruth's quiet chatter. However, night eventually fell and Evie, Jonathan, and Hassan fell asleep, leaving the O'Connell siblings to keep watch as they continued through the desert. O'Connell had put on his headdress and Ruth had pulled on her cloak. The two were silent as they tried to listen for anything besides Hassan's ghastly snoring. At one point, his snoring got so bad that it woke up Jonathan. The man merely smacked the warden before falling right back asleep. Ruth looked forward to see that Evie had fallen asleep on O'Connell's shoulder. Ruth smiled a little as Rick gently straightened her, taking care not to wake the woman. A few minutes later, Ruth heard the neighing of a horse. And it wasn't Nile. She looked around until she found the source.

"Rick." He followed his sister's gaze. Once again, at the top of a nearby ridge sat about a dozen riders in black. And once again, they were watching them. O'Connell and Ruth exchanged a wary look, but said nothing and merely continued riding. Soon, it was dawn. Right as the sky began to lighten, the little band of five arrived at Hamunaptra's location. Beni, the Americans, Dr. Chamberlain, and their diggers were already there.

"Good morning, my friends," Beni greeted in his slimy little voice.

"Piss off," Ruth immediately spat at him. If he thought they would immediately be past what happened three years ago he was _wrong_.

"Oh, but Two, my friend, I-" Ruth rolled her eyes and drew her gun.

"Shut up, Beni. I don't care. Just give me one reason I shouldn't shoot you right here," Ruth said.

"Ruth," O'Connell sighed. She hesitated, but eventually holstered her gun.

"Man, what the hell are we doing?" Daniels then asked.

"Patience, my good _barat'm_, patience," Beni said placating him.

"Remember our bet, O'Connell, Ruth. First one to the city, 500 cash bucks," Henderson reminded them.

"A hundred of them bucks is yours if you help us win that bet," Daniels told Beni.

"Oh, my pleasure," he replied. "Hey, O'Connell. Nice camel." Beni flashed O'Connell a nasty smile, but the man merely patted his camel on the head.

"Get ready for it," O'Connell said.

"For what?" Evie asked, confused.

"We're about to be shown the way," Ruth said. Everyone turned their attention to the horizon where the sun was starting to become visible. Everyone but O'Connell, Beni, and Ruth gave gasps of amazement. As the sun ascended over the horizon, the air in the distance seemed to shimmer, like a mirage. And from that shimmer, where the desert looked empty of anything other than sand, appeared a cluster of Ancient Egyptian structures.

"Would you look at that…?" Henderson breathed.

"Can you believe it?" Daniels then said.

"Hamunaptra," Burns said in realization.

"Here we go again," O'Connell sighed. After a few seconds, Hamunaptra became fully visible, and the race began. O'Connell and Beni took off, Evie and Ruth not far behind, and the Americans not far behind them. At one point, Beni began hitting O'Connell with his riding-crop-like stick, but O'Connell retaliated by grabbing Beni's clothing and tugging him off of his camel and letting him drop onto the ground. Nile leaped over the Hungarian man, but still stepped on his hand.

"Sorry, didn't see you there!" Ruth couldn't help but call over her shoulder. Her brother laughed aloud at that and Ruth let a little smirk grow on her face.

"Serves you right," Evie said as she passed him. Ruth laughed at her best friend's comment. Soon, Evie caught up with the O'Connells, even passing them. Ruth and Jonathan cheered for Evie as she ran ahead on her camel, soon passing into the lost city of Hamunaptra.

* * *

Hey all! Here is the revised and edited version of chapter 3. I hope you all like it!

Cheerio!


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on April 15, 2016**

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**Chapter 4: Mummies and Medjai**

_Hamunaptra_

There were people all over Hamunaptra. The Americans and their crew of diggers swarmed most of it. O'Connell, Evie, Jonathan, Hassan, and Ruth could be seen clear on the other side of the city. Evie was currently cleaning up what looked like an ancient Egyptian mirror. O'Connell and Ruth were tying up and configuring some ropes. Ruth had to smirk a little at the Americans. She was sure they were also looking for the Book of Amun-Ra, but unfortunately for them, they didn't know where it was buried. Evie did.

"That's the statue of Anubis," Evie began. "Its legs go deep underground. According to the Bembridge Scholars, that's where we'll find a secret compartment containing the golden book of Amun-Ra." Evie glanced at her brother who was trying to tilt the mirror to the right angle. "Jonathan, you're meant to catch the sun with that." Ruth sighed at him and went to correct what he'd messed up. While doing so, she saw her brother handing a toolkit to Evie as a gift… a toolkit that looked suspiciously like the one Burns had been carrying. Ruth smiled. It was cute how smitten Rick and Evie were with each other. Sure, he was gifting her with stolen property, but that was beside the point. Soon, Ruth finished with the mirror and O'Connell finished with the ropes. The group prepared to descend into Hamunaptra.

"Hey, look for bugs. I hate bugs," Hassan commented as O'Connell lowered himself down into the city. Ruth followed after him, but immediately wished she hadn't. Her fear of the dark kicked in almost immediately once she was inside the room. The only light in it was what was streaming in through the hole above them. O'Connell, knowing his sister's fear, quickly took a torch and lit it. Soon, Evie was standing next to the O'Connells.

"Do you realize we're standing inside a room that no one has entered in over 3,000 years?" she said to them. Ruth took a look around the room, still not able to tell where they were, despite the light coming from O'Connell's torch.

"Ooh! What is that God awful stench?" Jonathan cried after he got down from the rope. Then, he looked up and saw Hassan. "Oh." Evie went over towards another ancient mirror. She quickly cleaned off the cobwebs before tilting the mirror up.

"And then there was light." As the mirror was tilted to the right angle, the light from the mirror up above reflected down onto it. The light then bounced off the second mirror and onto a series of mirrors standing all around the room. Within seconds, the room was completely lit up. Ruth looked around and a shiver ran up her spine as she realized what room they were standing in.

"Oh, my God," Evie breathed. "It's a _sah-netjer_."

"Huh?" O'Connell asked.

"It's a preparation room," Ruth told him.

"Preparation for what?"

"For entering the afterlife." Evie had taken on a creepy tone and Ruth snickered as O'Connell drew his gun.

"Mummies, my good son," Jonathan said. "This is where they made the mummies." This calmed O'Connell down a little bit. The five of them soon began to venture deeper into the halls of Hamunaptra. O'Connell went first, then Evie, then Jonathan, then Hassan, then Ruth. Both O'Connells carried a torch in one hand and a gun in the other. As they ventured through a long, narrow corridor, the five heard a sudden scuttling sound. Everyone froze. They looked around, trying to find the source of the noise, but before they could, the scuttling faded.

"What was that?" someone asked.

"Sounds like… bugs." That was O'Connell.

"He said bugs," Evie whispered back to Hassan.

"What do you mean bugs? I hate bugs!" Hassan exclaimed. Ruth rolled her eyes a little bit. She normally didn't judge people for their fears, especially since she still held the childish fear of the dark, but here in Hamunaptra, Ruth couldn't help but feel that there were worse things than bugs. Plus! They were standing inside a lost city! A city that most people believed to be a mere story. They were on the verge of finding the Book of Amun-Ra, a treasure that was up there with the Ark of the Covenant! One could think others could put up with a few bugs. The five continued through the city in silence and soon, they reached a small chamber.

"The legs of Anubis," Evie said. Once Ruth made it into the chamber, she saw that she was right. Standing right in front of them was the bottom half of the Anubis statue. "The secret compartment should be hidden somewhere inside here." Suddenly, there was a quiet rustling and a low muttering. It sounded eerily like the muttering O'Connell and Ruth had heard when they were here three years ago. A shiver ran up Ruth's spine, but she ignored it and drew a weapon as the five pressed themselves against the statue. O'Connell nodded at Ruth and she came to stand directly behind him. They both quietly cocked their weapons as the muttering and rustling continued. As soon as the siblings were ready, they exchanged a nod. In unison, the O'Connells stepped out from behind the statue, their weapons raised. They came face to face with the Americans, Dr. Chamberlain, Beni, and their diggers. The Americans and Beni had their weapons drawn as well. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruth saw that Jonathan and Hassan had also drawn their guns.

"You scared the bejesus out of us, O'Connell, Ruth," Henderson said once everyone realized what had happened.

"Likewise," O'Connell replied. Everyone un-cocked their guns and lowered them while trying to calm their racing hearts.

"Hey, that's my toolkit!" Burns exclaimed coming towards Evie. O'Connell immediately pointed his guns at him. The others quickly followed. Ruth merely rolled her eyes and elected to keep her guns holstered. "Okay, perhaps I was mistaken."

"Well, have a nice day, gentlemen," Evie said. "We have a lot of work to be getting along with."

"Push off! This is out dig site!" Dr. Chamberlain countered. Evie's eyes narrowed.

"We got here first!" Not a second later, everyone, including Ruth, had their guns drawn again.

"This here's our statue, friend," Daniels said in a low voice.

"Well I don't see your name written on it, pal," O'Connell sassed. Movement caught Ruth's eye and she looked back to see Evie studying the floor. Ruth watched as Evie kicked a small stone down a large crack. The two women were barely able to make out the small thunk as it hit something below them. There was another level. Ruth holstered her guns.

"Yes, well, there's only five of you, and 15 of me," Beni cut in. "Your odds are not so great, O'Connell, Two."

"What the hell is with this 'Two' business?" Henderson suddenly asked. Everyone seemed so stunned at the turn of the conversation that they lowered their guns.

"She's the second O'Connell. We all called her 'Two' so they wouldn't get mixed up," Beni explained. Henderson looked confused.

"Your last name's O'Connell?"

"Don't most siblings share last names?" Ruth asked dryly. She hadn't realized the Americans didn't know about her relation to Rick. Henderson looked at her and smirked.

"Siblings, huh?" He moved towards the woman a little bit only to find O'Connell's gun two inches from his face. Ruth sighed as the others followed suit.

"Get out of here. We've got work to do," O'Connell said. There was a low tone in his voice, making him seem incredibly threatening. Unfortunately, the Americans either didn't hear it or didn't care.

"Oh, look, for goodness sake," Evie stepped in. "Let's be nice, children. If we're going to play together, we must learn to share." One by one, men started lowering their weapons. When O'Connell didn't follow suit, Evie gently touched his arm. "There are other places to dig." O'Connell must've heard something in her tone because he gave in almost immediately. He lowered his guns and shot the Americans an extremely forced smile. The Americans returned it. Then, the small group of five was gone.

~)8(~

"According to the hieroglyphics, we're underneath the statue. We should come up right between his legs," Evie said coming towards the rest of the group. Evie and Ruth had explained what they'd discovered. Fortunately, they'd managed to find the lower level fairly fast. If they worked quickly, they would be able to beat the Americans to the Book of Amun-Ra. Currently, O'Connell, Jonathan, and Ruth were standing on statues (Ruth on a much larger one because she was so short) while hacking away at the ceiling above them. They kept their gazes down in order to avoid the falling sand, but they were starting to make progress.

"When those damn Yanks go to sleep-" Jonathan started before tagging on, "no offense-"

"None taken," the O'Connells said simultaneously.

"-we'll dig our way up and steal that book right from under them."

"Are you sure we can find the secret compartment thing?" O'Connell asked.

"Yes, if those beastly Americans haven't beaten us to it," Evie paused and looked at her American friends. "No offense."

"None taken."

"Where'd our smelly little friend get to?" Jonathan suddenly asked. Everyone stopped in their work to realize that Hassan had indeed disappeared. While the four of them exchanged a slightly concerned look, neither of them bothered to go look for him. If he got lost it was his own fault for wandering off. They weren't willing to get lost themselves in search for him. They could only hope Hassan found his way back. Soon after that, they got back to work. Jonathan quickly abandoned his work and began playing a makeshift game of golf. When this happened, they decided a small break would be okay. Evie began explaining the mummification process to O'Connell.

"So let me get this straight," O'Connell said. "They ripped out your guts and they stuffed them in jars."

"And then they take out your heart as well," Evie continued. "Oh! And do you know how they took out your brains?" Ruth snickered. She and Evie loved freaking people out with this bit.

"Evie, I don't think we really need to know this," Jonathan commented, knowing where she was going with this. Evie and Ruth ignored him.

"They would get a sharp, red-hot hook thing, stick it up your nose, and wiggle and turn it about a bit before ripping it all out through your nostrils," Ruth described, purposefully making it sound a little more morbid than she normally would have. O'Connell looked appropriately uncomfortable.

"Oh, that's got to hurt," he muttered while touching his nose, as if to protect his brains from being ripped out.

"Well, it's called mummification. You'll be dead when they do this," Evie said. O'Connell turned to his sister.

"For the record, if I don't make it out of here, don't put me down for mummification." Ruth laughed lightly and nodded. Suddenly, there was something falling. It was enormous and fell so suddenly that O'Connell, Evie, Jonathan, and Ruth had no time to react to it and move. They only fully realized what had happened when they were coughing and choking on sand and dust.

"Oh, my… God. It's a sarcophagus," Evie breathed. Everyone hesitantly looked up to see where it had fallen from. "Buried at the base of Anubis." Evie and Ruth looked at each other. "He must've been someone of great importance."

"Or…" Ruth hesitantly added, "he was the worst of the worst." No one knew what to do with this information, so they simply moved on. Evie and Ruth took out their tools and began studying the sarcophagus.

"Well, who is he?" Jonathan asked as the two women began to read the writing upon the lid. Both women scanned the writing.

"He that shall not be named," Evie read. Again, no one knew what to do with this information. O'Connell leaned down and blew away some of the sand and dust covering the sarcophagus. As the dirt cleared away, a notch of some kind appeared. It was almost sun-like. It was circular with eight squiggly rays coming out of it.

"This looks like some sort of lock," O'Connell said. Ruth had to agree with him on that one.

"Well, whoever's in here sure wasn't getting out," Jonathan said.

"Yeah, no kidding. It'll take us a month to crack into this thing without a key." Evie and Ruth gasped loudly in unison, realizing the same thing.

"A key! A key! Now that's what he was talking about!" Evie cried.

"Who was talking about what?" O'Connell asked, thoroughly confused.

"The hook-man from the boat," Ruth said. Evie emerged from rummaging through her brother's things, the octagonal trinket in her hand.

"Hey, that's mine!" Jonathan complained as Evie opened it.

"No, it's Rick's. You stole it, remember?" Ruth said. "Now shut up." Evie placed the trinket, open-side down, into the notch. It was a perfect fit. Not a second later, a blood-curdling scream rang through the chamber. The four exchanged confused and scared looks before rushing towards the corridor to see what had made that noise. O'Connell and Ruth drew their weapons as they rushed into the corridor. However, the four of them had barely enough time to press themselves against the walls before Hassan came racing past them, screaming. O'Connell, Evie, Jonathan, and Ruth watched in confusion and fear as Hassan ran towards a wall clutching his head. No one could stop him before he ran smack into the stone wall and fell back onto the ground. He didn't move. He seemed to have knocked himself out. It was only upon later inspection did the O'Connells and Carnahans realize that Hassan was not knocked out. He was dead.

~)8(~

That night, no one in Hamunaptra was much in the mood for anything. The O'Connells and the Carnahans were still reeling from Hassan's very sudden death. They'd buried him a little out in the desert, none of them wanting to leave Hassan inside Hamunaptra to rot. None of them had liked him, but for him to die like that… It was horrible. It shook all of them. And no one was looking forward to telling the prison that their warden had died.

Ruth returned to their camp after feeding Nile. While the Americans had set up smack dab in the middle of Hamunaptra, the other four had set up camp a little further away from them, more towards the border of the city. Each of their bedrolls was set up around a campfire. Ruth sat down and began folding her blanket, planning to use it as a pillow. While the Sahara days were excruciatingly hot, the nights could be rather cool. However, it was well past dusk and it was still very warm, especially with their fire going. If Ruth got chilly, she could simply pull on her cloak. The woman got busy cleaning and sharpening her weapons when her brother walked up to camp, returning from telling the Americans about the incident with Hassan.

"It seems our American friends had a little misfortune of their own today," he said while sitting down. "Three of their diggers were… melted."

_"What?"_ Evie breathed. Ruth looked up, unsure what to think of that. What happened?

"Salt acid. Pressurized salt acid," O'Connell told them.

"That's an Ancient Egyptian booby trap," Ruth cut in.

"Maybe this place really is cursed," Jonathan muttered. Suddenly, there was a gust of wind and the four fell silent.

"Oh, for goodness sake, you three!" Evie scolded. O'Connell began stoking the fire.

"You don't believe in curses, huh?" he asked.

"No, I don't! I believe if I can see and can touch it, then it's real. That's what I believe," Evie said.

"I believe in being prepared." O'Connell cocked his shotgun and Ruth had to roll her eyes at his melodrama. That dramatic flair had been in him ever since she could remember.

"Let's see what our friend the warden believed in," Jonathan said. He reached over and began rustling through Hassan's bag. A few seconds later, Jonathan cried out and abruptly retracted his hand. At his outburst, O'Connell had grabbed his shotgun, Evie had screamed, and Ruth had nearly jumped right out of her skin.

"A broken bottle," Jonathan told them. The other three sighed in relief, glad it wasn't anything worse than that. Jonathan pulled a bottle out of Hassan's bag. "Glenlivet. Twelve years old! Well, he may have been a stinky fellow but he had good taste." The other three rolled their eyes as Jonathan took a swig of the alcohol.

"What do you believe, Ruth?" Evie suddenly asked her. The woman paused in cleaning her revolver. She looked thoughtful.

"Life's short," Ruth eventually answered. "I agree with Rick in that being prepared is a good thing, but too much anticipation takes the fun out of everything. And… I like to think I'm open to almost anything being a possibility. Skepticism is just as bad as anticipation, in my opinion. Most people don't even live for a whole century. That's a speck on the whole of history. I want to enjoy life. I believe in sitting back and enjoying the ride, but having a gun or knife handy in case someone tries to ruin it." Evie nodded, understanding what Ruth was getting at. Evie was a perfect example of what Ruth had been getting at. She was just so skeptical sometimes that she missed life's opportunities. O'Connell was a good example as well. While he held many superstitions, he was always suspicious and jumpy and anticipated everything. Ruth liked to think she was a medium between the two. She knew a certain level of skepticism was necessary to make it through life without being devastatingly naive. However, she held some superstitions as well. Like, she definitely believed that Hamunaptra was haunted. She'd thought so even before the incident three years ago. This place had just… it gave Ruth the creeps. She felt on edge. There was a permanent shiver going up her spine. Every little noise made her jump. She always felt like she was being watched. This place just… unnerved her. The events of today had only solidified her belief that something was _wrong_ in Hamunaptra. Between the statue of Anubis, the sarcophagus they'd found, and the death of Hassan and some of the Americans' diggers… It was starting to build up. The longer they stayed there, the more uneasy Ruth felt.

The O'Connells and Carnahans had fallen into a fairly comfortable silence. O'Connell began cleaning his shotgun. Evie was reading. Jonathan was drinking and drawing in the sand. Ruth was finishing with her weapons. After about ten minutes of silence, there was some commotion coming from the Americans' camp that made the four look in that direction. Something was wrong.

"Take this." O'Connell thrust his shotgun into Evie's hands before standing and running off towards the other camp, Ruth following behind him. "Stay here!" While she ran, Ruth quickly strapped on her swords and stuffed a gun down her pants while holding another in her hand. The rest of her weapons were sitting at the camp, either disassembled or strewn about. Evie (who had ignored O'Connell) and Jonathan were following behind the O'Connells, Evie still clutching Rick's shotgun and Jonathan still clutching the bottle of Glenlivet. The four of them were shocked to see dozens upon dozens of men garbed in black riding into the city. Ruth had a quick flashback to the battle from three years ago. Gunshots rang out everywhere and it seemed to be utter chaos. Ruth soon began shooting, emptying both of her guns far too quickly for her liking. Ruth practically threw them away and drew one of her swords. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruth saw her brother. He was facing off with one of the warriors. Rick shot the warrior's sword away, but the warrior drew a second and swiped at Rick, making him drop the gun. The warrior raised his sword to strike O'Connell down. Ruth didn't think. She just ran. Right as the warrior brought his sword down, Ruth managed to tackle her brother out of the way. She quickly scrambled up and turned to face the man. He seemed momentarily shocked at what Ruth had done, but quickly recovered. The desert warrior and the young translator began to duel.

The warrior swiped at Ruth fairly quickly, but she managed to duck out of the way. Ruth jabbed at his legs, but he side-stepped. Ruth quickly stood and made to strike. His sword met hers right between their bodies and the two continued to duel. They were pretty evenly matched. Their skills with a sword nearly matched each other's. The warrior was tall and strong. Ruth was nimble and quick. It took a lot of energy from him in order to catch her. It took a lot of strength from her to defend his blows. At one point, he delivered a blow that nearly knocked Ruth off of her feet. It took a lot out of her to defend herself. It took so much out of her that the warrior was able to swipe again and Ruth wasn't fast enough to catch him. Ruth hissed in pain as the man's blade caught her cheek. Out of instinct, Ruth clutched her stinging and bleeding face. The man used this as an opportunity to strike her again. This time, he caught her right bicep. The cut, while not very long, was deep and immediately made Ruth cry out in pain. She dropped her sword and moved to clutch her arm. The man moved to finish her, but Ruth recovered enough to duck and roll out of the way. When she popped back up, her other sword was drawn and the two resumed their duel.

It soon began to seem hopeless for Ruth. Her face was burning something awful and her right arm was hanging almost useless at her side. She was getting weaker and slower with every attack she parried. He began to overpower her. However, luck seemed to be on Ruth's side, as an opportunity presented itself not five seconds later. Ruth dropped her sword, ducked down, tucked in her knees, and rolled between the warriors very wide-spread legs. Ruth's bandana had come off when he'd cut her cheek. This allowed her to grab the fine dagger in her hair. After Ruth rolled between his knees, she popped up and grabbed her dagger before he could turn around and stabbed him in the back. Now, the dagger was too small to do any true damage, but it still hurt like hell and made the man cry out and stagger forward. As Ruth's dagger sank into the warrior's back, her hair unraveled and tumbled down her shoulders to her lower back. She knew this could be a disadvantage for her, but didn't allow it to deter her. When the man staggered forward, it allowed Ruth time to pick up her sword again. She made to swipe at him, but he managed to spin around and block her. Their swords locked at the hilts and Ruth finally looked at her attacker.

He was tall… over six feet… nearly Rick's height. And while not as solidly built, the man was still well sculpted and Ruth could see the raw muscle, despite the black robes he wore. His skin was a healthy olive, indicative of his Egyptian heritage. There were Arabic letters tattooed on both his cheeks. He had a neat, well-trimmed black beard and mustache. While he was wearing a black headdress, Ruth could see that his hair was blacker than night, wavy, and fell to his shoulders. It looked softer than the finest silk and Ruth felt the ridiculous urge to touch it. And oh, Lord… Time froze around Ruth and her opponent as she stared into his eyes. They were deep brown, like the darkest of chocolates, or the blackest of coffees, or the richest of soils. They sparkled in the firelight. The emotion in them ran deep, so much so that Ruth couldn't see an end. They were… _breathtaking._ He was… beautiful. Ruth was staring. She couldn't deny that. But the funny thing was, he seemed to be staring right back. Then, Ruth remembered that she and this man were trying to kill each other. Hesitant as she was to break the moment, she did so. Time unfroze as Ruth kicked the warrior's feet out from under him. The man grunted as he landed on the ground on his side. However, before Ruth could strike him, he rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet. The duel resumed, but not for long. Soon, Ruth felt someone grab her waist and practically drag her behind them. It was O'Connell. He kept his arm around Ruth's waist as he stared down the warrior. Ruth was confused on why the warrior slowly lowered his sword. Then, she saw what was in Rick's other, outstretched hand: a lit stick of dynamite.

"Enough!" the warrior yelled to his comrades. His voice was deep and laced with an exotic Egyptian accent that made a shiver run up Ruth's spine. _"Yallah! Nimshi!"_ The other warriors immediately retreated. The warrior looked at Rick and Ruth as he spoke his next words. "We will shed no more blood. But you must leave. Leave this place or die. You have one day." The warrior turned and mounted a horse. He and Ruth made eye contact again. The two stared at each other, strangely blank looks in both of their eyes before he kicked his horse into a gallop. A second later, he and his desert warriors were gone.

* * *

Hey all! Here's Ardeth (finally)! Though, he did make an appearance in Chapter 2 as well. Did any of you spot it? Anyway, this will be the last edited and revised chapter for today. Hope you all like it!

Cheerio!


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on April 17, 2016**

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**Chapter 5: Promises**

_Hamunaptra_

After the strange, desert warriors had gone, O'Connell and Ruth agreed to an alliance with the Americans, but only at night. They all wanted to be prepared in case the desert warriors showed up again. O'Connell had cleaned the cut on Ruth's face and lightly bandaged it. He had also cleaned, stitched up, and wrapped her arm. Fortunately, her injuries seemed to be the worst that anyone had. When O'Connell was all done, Ruth went and gathered the two guns she had tossed away during the battle before returning to camp. There, she quickly finished cleaning and reloading and sharpening all her weapons before putting them aside for the night. She was finishing up right as a drunken Evie tried to kiss O'Connell. Ruth had to smile in amusement when Evie passed out onto Rick's lap right before their lips made contact. O'Connell sighed and laid the woman down on her bedroll before turning to his sister.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her. O'Connell could read his sister like a book. There was something on her mind. Ruth was not at all willing to tell her brother that that darn desert warrior was mainly what was occupying her thoughts, so she came up with something else, something that was also niggling at her mind.

"Well, you said it yourself. These men are desert men. They value water, not gold. So…"

"So what are they hiding?" O'Connell finished. Ruth shook her head a little.

"It's more like they're… protecting something," Ruth said. O'Connell studied his sister.

"Go on," he egged, seeing there was something else bothering her. Ruth pursed her lips.

"What he said, that one desert warrior, the way he said it… It almost sounded like a warning, not a threat." O'Connell's eyebrows drew together.

"Is there a difference?" he asked.

"Of course there is," Ruth said. "A threat includes the indication that we will be harmed while a warning is more of just a foretelling of what's to come."

"But, Ruth, they did threaten us," O'Connell argued. "'Leave this place or die.' Remember?"

"Yes, but if it were a true threat, he would've said "leave this place or we will kill you.' He said 'leave this place or die.' Why did he say that?" Towards the end of her little rant, Ruth's talking had become more like something akin to muttering.

"You're tired and overlooking things," O'Connell said. Ruth didn't argue with that. She knew he was most likely right. But… Ruth sagged and her eyes widened with horror as she thought about something.

"Evil," she muttered.

"What?" O'Connell asked.

"If they're protecting something, and there truly is evil out here, and they were warning us instead of threatening us…" Ruth trailed off and looked at her brother, more serious than he'd ever seen her. "What if they're protecting _us_?" O'Connell had been able to follow his sister's train of thought, and he had to admit that it made some sense. What if the desert warriors were merely trying to protect them from whatever evil was underneath the sand? But… O'Connell had a hard time believing that they were protecting them when they had been viciously attacked by those men not a few hours ago.

"No matter what their intentions are," Ruth continued, "the sooner we leave this place the better." O'Connell frowned.

"If you don't want to be here, then why did you come?" he asked.

"Because you came." Ruth said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Rick, I haven't seen or talked to you in two and a half years." After the battle three years ago, Rick and Ruth had changed. Rick had become more jumpy, paranoid, and irritable. Ruth had become quieter for a time, retreating into her studies. Eventually, the siblings just needed their space. They went their separate ways. It wasn't long after that when Ruth got her job at the British Museum, and with that came her schedule of splitting the year between cities: six months in London and six months in Cairo. The siblings had just… lost contact. "I wasn't going to get you out of jail and then just ditch you. If you were going to lead Evie and Jonathan here, then I was going to come." Rick saw the sadness in his sister's eyes as she thought about the time they had spent apart. It had been hard, especially because Rick had been a constant presence in her life growing up. She had only been two when their father left and their mother died. She barely remembered them. Rick had been the only true family she had growing up. And Rick loved his little sister to bits. He'd tried his best to protect her growing up, though, it had been hard somethings due to where they lived. For the two siblings to suddenly not have each other for two and a half years… it had been _hard_.

O'Connell stood and walked over to Ruth's bedroll before sitting down beside her. Ruth immediately leaned her head onto her brother's shoulder. O'Connell smiled a bit and put his arm around his little sister. After a few seconds, he leaned his head down on top of hers.

"We'll be okay, Ruthie. This time isn't like last time. We'll be fine," O'Connell assured her. Comfort washed over Ruth at his words and she nodded. Ruth snuggled further into her brother and took in his comforting musky scent. As she inhaled it, more comfort spread throughout her body and she continued to relax. But no matter what O'Connell said, no matter how musky he smelt, as long as she was in Hamunaptra, there would always be a small seed of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. Nothing would change that.

~)8(~

Ruth blearily opened her eyes, trying to remember when her bedroll had gotten so comfortable. Then she remembered. Rick had stayed with her last night. And there he was, fast asleep and snoring away. It was a wonder Ruth had stayed asleep for so long with that racket in her ear. The sky was still dark. Ruth took a look at her watch. It was 4:06 in the morning, about an hour and a half before dawn. Ruth spent about 20 minutes lying down on the ground trying to fall back asleep. It wasn't working. With a sigh, Ruth sat up, careful not to wake her brother. Ruth stood up and raised her arms high above her head and stood on her tippy toes, stretching out her back. She rolled her neck around a few times as well and shook the stiffness out of her limbs. When Ruth felt more stretched and awake, she began strapping on her things. If she was going to go for an early morning ride, she was sure as hell not going to go unarmed. When she was finally ready, she walked over to where Nile was tied up. He was awake. He seemed to be staring at Ruth expectantly.

"I'll feed you when we get back," Ruth promised. She noticed he hadn't even finished what she'd given him last night. Ruth quickly saddled Nile up and mounted him. Ruth quickly looked back at her camp. Rick would kill her if he woke up and found she had gone off on her own. But… if Ruth got back before the sun fully rose, she would be fine. Besides, he was fast asleep and probably wouldn't wake anytime soon. And remembering how drunk both Evie and Jonathan had been last night, they wouldn't be waking up soon either. So, Ruth rode off. She started Nile off at a nice easy walk, then progressing to a trot, then to a canter, then to a full gallop. Before Ruth realized it, she had arrived at the ridge the desert warriors usually occupied. Seeing it was empty, Ruth rode up to the top of it. When she got there, she dismounted Nile and let him walk around a bit. Ruth stood at the top of the ridge, overlooking the vast desert before her. For several minutes she watched. Then, the silence was broken. Ruth heard hooves fast approaching. Thinking it was maybe Rick or one of the Americans, Ruth turned around. It wasn't. It was the warrior she had fought last night. As he dismounted his steed, Ruth swiftly drew one of her swords and held it out before her. The warrior raised his hands, trying to placate her.

"I have not come here to fight," he told her. Ruth's eyebrows drew together a bit, but she didn't dare lower her sword.

"Then why have you come?" she asked. The warrior slowly stepped towards her, his hands still raised. Ruth made no move to attack him. She was actually tempted to put her sword away. God, what was she _thinking_?! This man was dangerous! She shouldn't have felt safe around him. And yet… she did.

"To talk," the warrior finally answered, stopping but a few feet away from Ruth. He calmly glanced at her sword before meeting her eyes. Ruth was both disappointed and relieved when time didn't seem to stop around them again. That would only cause problems. But his eyes… Ruth had to shake herself. Now was not the time for this. Ruth hesitated, but eventually elected to sheath her sword.

"What do you want?" Ruth demanded with a wary look in her eye, one that did not go unnoticed by the warrior.

"What is it you seek within Hamunaptra?" he asked. Ruth raised an eyebrow, unsure where that question had come from.

"Is there something you're trying to keep hidden?" Ruth said, answering his question with a question. The warrior looked unamused.

"I cannot say."

"Then I _will_ not say." Now he looked frustrated. He hadn't been expecting the woman to be this stubborn. It had been by pure chance he'd seen her up here on the ridge. He'd been making a round with his men, wanting to see if they had left the city. No such luck. Then, he'd seen the woman from last night up on the ridge. He was taking this opportunity to try and convince her to leave.

"You must leave this place." Ruth frowned at the tone of his voice. He hadn't gotten angry. He almost sounded like he was… like he was begging her.

"Believe me, I don't want to be here anymore than you want us here," Ruth told him. The warrior's eyebrows furrowed.

"Why?" Ruth looked unamused.

"You know why!" she cried exasperated. "Three years ago you desert warrior people watched as my garrison was _slaughtered_ by an army of Tuaregs." The warrior broke eye contact with Ruth, his shoulders sagging a little with guilt. "My brother and I were the only survivors." Ruth didn't bother mentioning the little weasel that was Beni Gabor.

"Why have you come back? After what happened, why have you returned?" the warrior asked, trying to get away from the topic of what happened three years ago. Truthfully, while he believed it was for the greater good, watching innocent people die had never sat right with him. It didn't sit right with most of his men. But they had the whole picture, and they knew it would be worth it in the end.

"My friend," Ruth answered. "She found a map." Ruth debated whether to mention the key or not, but eventually decided against it. Ruth had a feeling that mentioning the key would only make matters worse. "She decided to follow it. This is her first expedition. I was not going to leave her on her own to get lost or die. She's my best friend. Surely you can understand." And the warrior could. He cared about each and every single one of his men. Had the positions between him and this woman been flipped, be probably would've done the same thing she had. The two fell into a slightly awkward silence.

"Please," the warrior said breaking it. "Please leave. You still have until tonight." Ruth suddenly gasped.

"The boat…" she breathed. "That was you, wasn't it? They weren't bandits. They were your men." The warrior nodded. Ruth breathed heavily and glanced up at him. "Whatever you're hiding here… was it worth the lives of the innocent people on that boat who weren't going to Hamunaptra? Were their lives worth your little secret?!" Towards the end of her questions, Ruth's voice had risen all the way to an angry yell. Anger flashed in the warrior's deep eyes. His jaw tensed.

"The well-being of the many outweighs the lives of but a few." There was a slight tremor in his voice and Ruth could tell he was trying not to yell at her. It only made her angrier.

"_How_ can you say that?!" The warrior snapped.

"By reminding myself that we are saving lives! _Millions_ of lives!" Ruth opened her mouth to counter but finally, his words registered to her.

The warrior watched as the woman's mouth closed and all traces of anger melted from her face and body. She stared up at him, her eyes slightly wide. In their little anger match, the two hadn't noticed as they'd stepped closer and closer to one another. It was only when the woman took a staggering step backward did the warrior realize their chests had been but inches from touching.

"Oh, God…" the woman breathed. "I was right." The warrior's eyebrows drew together.

"What?"

"I was right," she said, firmer this time. She looked up at him, her amber eyes growing soft. "Whatever's out there under that sand… you're not protecting _it_. You're protecting us _from_ it." The warrior looked back. She wasn't that far from the truth, honestly. And while it was a little more complicated than that, she was correct.

"That's why you must leave," the warrior replied, his voice quiet. His anger had disappeared as quickly as Ruth's had. Ruth had to break eye contact with him, his deep eyes being too much for her right now.

"I'll try," she said, her voice just as quiet. "I promise. I'll try to get everyone to leave." There was a pause.

"Thank you." Again, the two fell silent. The pair stood there on the ridge for several minutes before Ruth moved. She didn't say anything as she mounted Nile. She made eye contact with the mysterious desert warrior once more before riding off. She didn't realize it, but as she rode away, the desert warrior was staring after her, all while grasping something within his pocket.

* * *

Hey all! Here is Chapter 5. It's mostly new content. This conversation between Ardeth and Ruth didn't happen in the original version of this story. Let me know what you all think :)

**Reviews**

dutchangel1979: Hey there :) Thanks for being my first reviews on the edited and revised version of this story! I'm glad you're still liking it. The rest of this story will come up within the next few days. The sequel will be up by the end of May if not sooner (May is when I finally finish school). I hope you like this new chapter :)  
Guest: Of course there's another chapter ;) There's many after this one as well. Between 9-11 more chapters after this one actually. I hope you like them :)

Cheerio!


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: This revised and edited chapter was uploaded on April 17, 2016**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Imhotep**

_Hamunaptra_

When Ruth returned to her campsite, the sun was all the way up. She could hear some talking coming from the Americans' camp. That did not bode well. Ruth quickly removed Nile's tack and fed and watered him before going back to her camp. Rick was beginning to stir.

"Where were you?" he asked when he finally opened his eyes.

"Feeding Nile," Ruth answered quickly. O'Connell bought it.

"What time is it?"

"A little past 6 in the morning," Ruth answered glancing at her watch. She hadn't realized how long she'd been talking to the warrior for until now. Her brother was standing and stretching, trying to wake himself up. "Can you get some breakfast going?" O'Connell nodded, thankful for something to do. Plus, he had always been the better cook between the two of them. Ruth knelt down beside her best friend and gently shook her.

"Evie," Ruth tried. "Come on, Eves. It's time to get up." The brunette let out a low moan.

"No." Ruth laughed a little and Evie winced.

"Come on, girly." Ruth knew she was hungover, but if the Americans got the book of Amun-Ra because Ruth had let Evie sleep in… she'd never be forgiven. Ruth quickly ripped Evie's blanket away from her and the woman groaned.

"Do you mind turning down that light?" Evie asked. Ruth laughed lightly.

"You mean the sun?" she asked, thoroughly amused.

"And talking quieter?" Ruth laughed again.

"Come on, Evie." Ruth grasped her best friend's hands and raised her into a sitting position. Ruth handed her a canteen. "Drink all of this." Evie didn't argue and took the canteen of water.

"I'm going to kill Jonathan," she muttered. "And after that, I'm never drinking again." Ruth smirked a little.

"Why don't you wait until your hangover passes, all right Evie?" The woman merely nodded, but abruptly stopped due to the pounding it caused in her head. As Evie continued to drink the water Ruth had given her, the O'Connell woman moved to wake up Jonathan. She was not nearly as gentle with him as she was with Evie. There was a lot of screaming and smacking involved, but soon, Jonathan was drinking a canteen of water alongside his sister. Soon, the pair was being handed a particularly greasy breakfast by an amused O'Connell. The chatter from the Americans' camp was getting louder. It took over half an hour, but eventually, the O'Connells and the Carnahans were ready to start the day. After Evie and Jonathan had rehydrated and gotten some food in them, they'd returned to their regular selves. When the group of four descended back down into the City of the Dead, the Americans looked like they were just now rolling out of bed. However, when they finally arrived at the statue of Anubis, Ruth was surprised to find that Evie was much more curious about the sarcophagus they'd found. So they left the search for the book… for now.

"Oh, I've dreamt about this since I was a little girl," Evie breathed. O'Connell and Jonathan had just managed to lean the bottom layer of the sarcophagus up against the wall. They'd gone through the first layer fairly quickly and were now ready to finally see who was inside.

"You dream about dead guys?" O'Connell asked Evie, confused at her previous comment. Evie ignored him.

"Oh, look," she said while looking at the lid of the sarcophagus. "The sacred spells have been chiseled off. This man must've been condemned not only in this life, but in the next."

"Tough break."

"Yeah, I'm all tears," Jonathan added sarcastically. Ruth pushed aside her growing uneasiness as he unlocked the sarcophagus. "Let's see who's inside, shall we?" He and O'Connell grasped the lid and tried to remove it. They struggled for several seconds, but suddenly, it flew off and the body inside practically jumped out at them. All four screamed with surprise, but quickly recovered.

"Oh, I hate it when these things do that!" Evie cried.

"Is he supposed to look like that?" O'Connell asked while eyeing the body. Ruth's eyebrows furrowed in disgust and surprise. The body's wrappings were nowhere to be found. But then, Ruth found them. They were behind the body, torn and ripped, like something had forced its way out of them. The body itself looked… not right. It was still decomposing. But… that made _no_ sense! He was too old to still be decomposing. How was this possible? The uneasy feeling in Ruth's gut grew as she gazed at the body.

"No, I've never seen a mummy look like this before," Evie said answering O'Connell's question. "He's still… still…"

"Juicy," O'Connell and Jonathan finished. That was the perfect word to describe this corpse.

"Yes," Evie agreed.

"God, he's over 3,000 years old and yet… he's still decomposing," Ruth said. "He shouldn't look like this. How is this possible?" Evie was nodding in agreement with her best friend's words.

"Hey, look at that," O'Connell spoke up. Ruth followed his gaze and fell upon the inside of the sarcophagus lid. There were deep scratches all over it. "What do you make of this?"

"My God, these marks were made by…" Evie trailed off as she ran her fingers over the scratches, realizing they matched perfectly. "Fingernails." Ruth shivered. "This man was buried alive."

"Guys," Ruth suddenly said. She was still staring at the inside of the sarcophagus lid. "He left a message." Indeed, scratched into the stone, was Ancient Egyptian writing. "Death is only the beginning." As Ruth read the words, her blood ran cold. What could that possibly mean? Everyone hesitantly looked back at the corpse, unnerved and unsure what to do next. This man had been buried alive inside a locked sarcophagus with the sacred spells chipped away. He hadn't been named and he had been buried at the base of Anubis and he had most likely scratched those words into the sarcophagus lid with his dying breaths. Who was this man? And what had he done wrong? Ruth shivered as she thought of the possibilities. She could only hope and pray that she never found out.

~)8(~

It wasn't long after they opened the sarcophagus did the small group decide to call a day, a little spooked and drained. Evie and Ruth elected to stay behind and continue studying the corpse and sarcophagus, but eventually, the two paused for a break.

"So, what do you think?" Evie asked her, still bursting with excitement at everything from their location to the body they'd unearthed.

"I think we should leave," Ruth told her seriously. Evie frowned before laughing a little bit.

"Maybe we should call it a day," she agreed. Ruth shook her head.

"No. I meant I think we should leave Hamunaptra." Evie frowned in confusion.

"But…" she began to protest. "Ruth you live for discovery and travel. Plus, you have a passion for Ancient Egypt. This is your life. Why do you want to leave?" Ruth looked at her friend for a few seconds before sighing. It was time.

"Last time I was here… three years ago-" With a start, Evie realized that Ruth was about to tell her about the events from three years ago. Evie hurried to stop her best friend.

"Ruth, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Evie said. Ruth smiled a little at Evie's consideration but shook her head.

"You deserve to know," Ruth told her. Evie smiled a little, touched that Ruth trusted her that much. So, without further ado, Ruth told Evie about the events from three years ago. She told her about how she hid her true identity while in the French Foreign Legion. She told Evie about the long journey across Libya and Egypt. She told Evie about the battle. She told Evie how she watched as her friends and comrades were killed by Tuaregs. She told Evie how she, her brother, and Beni were the only ones from the Legion who survived. She told Evie about the whispering they'd heard. She told Evie about the sand that had thrown itself at them. She told Evie about the long journey back to civilization. She told Evie about the black riders on top of the ridge who had watched the entire thing. She told Evie _everything_. Down in that little chamber underneath the statue of Anubis, a decomposing mummy staring at them, both of them covered in dirt and sweat and grime, Ruth told Evie e_verything_.

"Ruth… I… I don't know what to say," Evie eventually choked out. She really didn't. What Ruth had just shared with her was… _awful_. Just terrible! Ruth smiled a little bit at Evie's words.

"Eves, I'm not trying to force you into anything. You've wanted to find this book your entire life. And now that you're so close… I don't mean to rip that chance away from you. I just wanted you to know about what happened and why I hate this place so much. If you choose to stay in the end, I won't force you to leave. I'll even stay with you. But _please_… please consider what I've told you. Please consider leaving this place." Evie was extremely touched at Ruth's words. After everything she'd just shared, Evie could understand why Ruth didn't want to be here. But to know that her friend would stay with her if she chose to stay… it meant a lot to her.

"Well, I'm going back up," Ruth then said. "I've got to get started on those Ancient Greek letters." Evie nodded. Ruth quickly gathered her tools and grabbed a torch as she made to leave the chamber.

"Hey, Ruth?" She turned back to the brunette woman. "Thank you for telling me." Ruth smiled, wider than she had all day, and nodded. With that, Evie was left alone in the room.

~)8(~

That night, Ruth sat in front of a roaring fire, surrounded by her work. There was a large pile of photographs to her right and a larger pile of parchment next to the photos. On her left was a small pile of photos and parchment with the letters' translations written on them. Ruth held a writing pad in her lap with ink and a pen and parchment. In her hands she held a photo and a magnifying glass. At one point, Ruth registered her brother coming and sitting next to her with Jonathan and Beni. Not soon after that, the Americans joined them.

"Say, O'Connell," Henderson started as he sat down. Both Rick and Ruth looked up. "What do you think these babies will fetch back home?" Ruth had to snigger a bit as she saw what each of the Americans was holding. "Something funny, Two?" The Americans had taken up Beni's habit of calling her 'Two'.

"Do you have any idea what those are?" she asked them. The men shook their heads but didn't seem to care. Too stuck on the idea of how much money they would make selling them, most likely. Not much, really. Canopic jars weren't exactly considered valuable, even ones that were in as good of condition as those were. Their value decreased when they didn't have the body that went with them. Ruth pointed at Henderson.

"Intestines." She then pointed at Burns. "Liver." And then at Daniels. "Stomach." The Americans sat there thoroughly confused, but O'Connell and Jonathan, who still remembered Evie and Ruth's lecture on the mummification process, had to snicker. Ruth debated whether or not to tell them they were holding someone's organs, but decided against it. Their ignorance was more amusing than their disgusted faces would be.

"We heard you guys found yourselves a nice gooey mummy," Burns said, trying to get O'Connell and Ruth to stop laughing at them. "Well, congratulations."

"You know if you dry that fella out you might be able to sell him for firewood," Daniels added. The three Americans and Beni found this amusing, but O'Connell, Jonathan, and Ruth merely ignored them.

"Look what I found!" Evie called as she came up to them.

"You're in her seat," O'Connell told Beni sternly. The Hungarian merely laughed. "Now!"

"Yeah." He got up and moved to the other side of Jonathan right as Evie came up to them.

"Scarab skeletons," she said as she sat down next to O'Connell in Beni's vacated seat. "Flesh-eaters. I found them inside our friend's coffin. They can stay alive for _years_ feasting on the flesh of a corpse. Unfortunately for our friend, he was still alive when they started eating him." The Americans' moods instantly deflated upon hearing Evie's words and everyone around the fire fell silent. Evie was the only one who seemed to be excited about this. Ruth mentally sighed. Looks like she had decided to stay. Well, if that desert warrior came back, Ruth could tell him that she did her part and tried to get them to leave, just like she promised.

Ruth quietly reached across her brother and grabbed one of the skeletons in Evie's hands. She held it up between her fingers and studied it in the firelight. It was definitely a scarab. Vicious things. Ruth didn't care who you were or what you had done. No one deserved to be eaten alive by scarabs.

"So somebody threw these in with our guy and they slowly ate him alive?" O'Connell asked.

"_Very_ slowly," Evie and Ruth confirmed at the same time. However, while Ruth's voice was grim, Evie was grinning.

"Well, he certainly wasn't a popular fellow when they planted him, was he?" Jonathan said. Ruth couldn't help but agree. But, the Ancient Egyptians weren't barbarians. They must've had a good reason for condemning this man to the fate he had received.

"He probably got a little too frisky with the pharaoh's daughter," O'Connell said, trying to diffuse the tension a little bit. It worked. Evie laughed. However, she stopped when she saw the thoughtful look on Ruth's face.

"Evie…" her best friend started, "which curse did this guy suffer?" An excited gleam lit up Evie's eyes.

"The Hom-Dai." Ruth blanched.

"But… that was _never_ performed! That was the worst of all Ancient Egyptian curses." Evie nodded, the gleam still in her eyes.

"I know." Ruth's eyes closed in horror. God, what the hell did this guy do? It must've been truly horrible if the Egyptians had condemned him to the Hom-Dai, a curse which had supposedly never been performed because the Egyptians feared it so much.

"That bad, huh?" O'Connell asked. Judging from his tone, he wasn't taking this as seriously as Ruth was.

"The Hom-Dai was never used because the Ancient Egyptians were terrified of it," Ruth told him. "If a victim of the Hom-Dai were to ever be resurrected, they would be like a walking plague. They would literally bring with them the Ten Plagues of Egypt." There was a tense silence as everyone took in this information. Not soon after that, everyone decided it was time to talk about something else and they all branched off in their own little conversations. Ruth turned back to her work.

"What'cha got there?" she heard. She looked up and to her right to see Burns sitting down next to her, curious at what she was reading. Ruth smiled a bit. As brash as Daniels was and as arrogant as Henderson was, Burns seemed like a decent guy.

"I'm a linguist and translator," Ruth told him. "I'm just getting some work done." He nodded and looked at the photo of the letter.

"What language is that?" he asked upon the realization that it was not English.

"Ancient Greek."

"You know Ancient Greek?" Burns asked with extreme surprise. Ruth looked up with a smile and nodded.

"I can read and write several dead languages," she told him. "I also know Ancient Egyptian, English, obviously, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, German, Japanese, and Chinese." Burns' surprise and amazement grew with every language Ruth listed. "I'm currently studying Farsi. I hope to learn Russian and Swahili someday."

"Impressive," Burns managed to get out. And it certainly was. He'd studied a little bit of Spanish, but barely enough to get by. He could never hope to learn as many languages as Ruth had.

"It took a lot of hard work, but it eventually paid off," Ruth said. "As someone who grew up in an orphanage, communication was an essential skill I needed to learn. I grew up learning both English and Arabic. After learning Ancient Egyptian out of curiosity, I just… continued. I never stopped, I still haven't."

"That's amazing, Two, really," Burns complimented. Ruth smiled.

"You can call me Ruth, you know." Burns smiled.

"As long as you call me Bernie." Ruth's smiled widened and she nodded. Then, she showed Burns what she was working on.

"This is a letter from a man in Ancient Greece to his lover. A woman recently approached me and asked me to translate a series of these letters for her and her family. None of them know Ancient Greek. Normally, I don't do personal consultations, but I wasn't busy at the time so I took the job. The correspondents of the letters are the woman's ancestors."

"What do they say?" Burns asked in curiosity. Ruth looked at the piece of parchment in her lap.

"My love, I can only hope that you are doing well and this letter makes it to you. I know how your father feels about us, so I think it best we keep the letters few and far between. But, I can't help it. I want to see you. I need to see you, my love. I need to see your flowing hair and your shining eyes and your bright smile. Do you want to meet?"

"What? That's it?" Burns asked, slightly disappointed at the shortness of the love letter. Ruth laughed.

"That's all I have translated so far," she said. Burns flushed a little bit and took off his glasses to clean them. He and Ruth spent some more time talking and reading the letters, but soon, it was time for everyone to turn in for the night.

"Oh, Bernie?" The man stopped and turned back to Ruth. She knelt down and picked up something from the ground before handing it to him. Burns frowned in confusion before unwrapping the large parcel. When he saw what was inside it, he gasped. It was a new toolkit.

"I apologize for my brother," Ruth said to him. "I know what he did and I had a spare toolkit so…" Burns gaped at the woman.

"Thank you," he eventually breathed. Ruth smiled and nodded.

"Goodnight, Bernie." The woman turned and walked back towards her camp. Ruth went to feed and groom Nile before turning in for the night. She had finally finished and was heading back to camp when she heard Dr. Chamberlain yelling at the top of his lungs.

"NO! You must not read from the book!" Ruth followed his gaze and saw O'Connell and Evie. In front of them was an open book. It was black and made of stone. Ruth rushed forward, but halted gasped as she got closer and realized what the book was.

"Is that what I think it is?" she breathed, her eyes wide and her heart pounding. Yes, it was. It was the Book of the Dead, the complete opposite of the Book of Amun-Ra. How they'd gotten that particular book she had no idea, but at the time, she didn't particularly care. Her question went unanswered as there was a rush of wind. But that wasn't all. There was a rumbling from somewhere off in the distance. Jonathan jerked awake as the rumbling got louder and everyone looked in the direction it was coming from. At first, they all wondered if it was those desert warriors coming back for them in greater numbers, but they quickly ruled it out. The rumbling didn't at all resemble hooves. And it was far too loud. So, if it wasn't those desert warrior guys, where was the rumbling coming from? Ruth was mentally cursing herself for putting away most of her weapons for the night. The only things she had left on her person were the knives down her boots. She didn't even have the dagger in her hair anymore because she'd used it to injure the desert warrior. Ruth quickly crept to her things and began strapping on her swords. She didn't have time to do much else because she finally saw what was making the rumbling. It was a swarm of locusts!

"Run!" O'Connell yelled. Everyone bolted. O'Connell, Evie, Jonathan, Beni, the Americans, and Ruth rushed into the city as the locusts swarmed them. At one point, Beni, the Americans, and a couple of their diggers broke off. O'Connell, Evie, Jonathan, and Ruth cautiously made their way through the corridors of Hamunaptra. Ruth held one of her swords in front of her and O'Connell held on of his guns. Both he and Jonathan had torches in their hands. Evie was holding one of Ruth's knives, which the woman had thrust into her hands as they'd entered the city. Suddenly, there came more rumbling. Everyone paused as a small mound of sand began to rise out of the floor. The four watched with wariness and caution as it continued rising. A few seconds later, hundreds of scarabs burst from the sand.

"Go! Run! Go!" Ruth yelled. The four sprinted through the corridors. O'Connell shot at the scarabs as they chased them. At one point, the four ran into a little room where the floor was nothing more than a stone bridge. The floor beneath them seemed to drop into nothingness and everyone made sure to stay far away from the edges. Evie and Ruth flattened themselves against a wall and O'Connell and Jonathan jumped onto separate side platforms as the scarabs rushed passed, not giving them a second glance. Evie and Ruth grasped hands and pushed themselves against the wall even harder as the flesh-eaters ran by them. But suddenly, there was no more wall. The two women fell back with screams. It was a trapdoor. Evie had managed to stay standing, but Ruth fell back on her bum. When they finally calmed down, the women saw they were in a dimly lit room, something Ruth seethed at. With both of their nerves running high, Ruth picked herself up off the ground and crept closer to her best friend as Evie looked around frantically. The women froze in fear when they heard a quiet moaning. They turned and saw Burns standing behind them, his back facing them. Both women gave little sighs of relief.

"Oh," Evie breathed. "Oh, Mr. Burns. Thank goodness. We were just starting to get scared. We lost everyone…" Evie trailed off as Burns turned around. Ruth's eyes widened and she very nearly screamed. Burns' eyes were missing and he stared at the pair with empty sockets.

"My eyes! My eyes!" At his muffled cries, Ruth was able to determine that his tongue was missing as well. Evie shuffled away from the man in fear, but Ruth made to catch him as he collapsed. Good God, what the hell happened to him? Ruth snapped her gaze up when she heard Evie give a scream. Evie was scrambling away from a menacing figure. Ruth froze and fear pumped through her entire being as she stared at the walking and talking mummy. It was _their_ mummy, the one they'd unearthed. He was alive and stalking towards Evie. Ruth couldn't have muffled the squeak of fear she gave even if she wanted to. The mummy paused and turned to face Ruth. Then, he started coming towards her. Ruth froze. She felt petrified. She couldn't move. She was absolutely shell-shocked with fear.

_"Amunet… come."_ The mummy spoke in Ancient Egyptian. As he spoke, he reached his hand out towards Ruth, as if he wanted her to take it. How could he speak? And his eyes…? Ruth nearly threw up. They were the same blue as the eyes Burns had previously possessed. The mummy had taken Burns' eyes and tongue for itself. And more than that… who was Amunet, and why had the mummy called her that?

Finally, Ruth was able to shake herself from her terrified stupor and she reached for the sword she'd dropped when she'd caught Burns. She swung her blade at the mummy, missing completely, but still feeling a little braver. The mummy got the message. He lowered his hand and walked back over to Evie. Ruth had a choice. She could either stay there and help Evie with the mummy, or she could save Burns' life and get him out of there. Ruth was saved from making a choice she felt she was physically unable to make. O'Connell came rushing into the room. Evie would be fine with her brother. So, Ruth sheathed her sword and grasped Burns' underarms before practically dragging him out of the chamber. It took a lot of Ruth's strength, as Burns wasn't exactly a small man, but she knew that if she didn't get him and herself out of there, they would most likely die. Ruth turned a corner in the corridor and stopped. She set Burns back on the ground and leaned him up against the wall. He was quietly moaning with pain. Quite understandable considering the state he was in. Suddenly, Ruth heard fastly approaching footsteps. Panic filled her.

"Shh, shh," Ruth quietly shushed Burns. His moaning got a little quieter, but it wasn't enough. Ruth gently placed her hand over his mouth to quiet him and drew a sword with her other hand. Ruth breathed in and out slowly, trying to quiet her breathing and racing heart. She listened. They were getting closer. Within 30 seconds, numerous men came around the corner with torches and guns. They all pointed their weapons at Ruth and Burns upon seeing them. Ruth sent her strongest glare at them. She was so done with… Ruth's thoughts cut off as a familiar face came forward.

"You," Ruth breathed. It was the warrior she'd fought and spoken with on the ridge.

"What have you done?" he asked. Ruth's glare returned.

"Nothing!" she insisted. Well, not exactly true, but she truly had no idea what was going on. "What is happening?"

"You have raised the Creature. You have doomed us all."

"I did not read from that damn book!" The warrior looked a little surprised at her words. "That's what this is about, right? 'The Creature' suffered the Hom-Dai, Evie accidentally resurrected him, and now the Plagues are coming. There was already a swarm of locusts." The man raised his eyebrows, admittedly a little impressed that the woman had been able to figure it out so quickly. He'd thought so before, but she certainly was a clever one.

"What happened to Bernie?" Ruth quietly asked while lowering her sword and gently stroking the hair of the pained man next to her.

"The Creature has taken his eyes and tongue for himself," the warrior said confirming what Ruth had already figured out. "He must've been one of the ones to open the chest."

"What chest?" Ruth asked, confused.

"The chest containing the Book of the Dead and the five sacred canopic jars." Ruth thought about the book she'd seen O'Connell and Evie with. Then, she thought back to a few hours ago when the Americans had bragged about their finds, unknowing of what the canopic jars really were. Guilt swept through Ruth as she remembered how she had mocked them.

"What's going to happen to him?" Ruth whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from the American man she had recently come to consider a friend. The warrior didn't say anything, but the grim look in his eyes said everything. Ruth closed her eyes, unknowing of the tear that made its way down her face.

"What do you know about Imhotep?" the warrior suddenly asked. He looked down at the clever woman before him and decided to test her knowledge, see just how much she knew and was able to figure out. The woman furrowed her eyebrows.

"Not much," she admitted. "Only what I read in an obscure text in the library at the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. He was Seti I's High Priest. That mummy… was that him?" The warrior nodded and Ruth's eyes widened a bit. Pharaoh's High Priest had been condemned to the Hom-Dai. What exactly had he done to deserve that? The warrior turned to his men and ordered them to go back to the surface in Arabic. Two men came forward and gently lifted up Burns. The man began to panic.

"Ruth? Ruth! Don't leave me, Ruth! Ruth, where are you? Don't leave me! _Please_!" Ruth's heart broke as she listened to the man's muffled cries. She rushed forward and grasped the man's hand.

"I'm here, Bernie. I'm here. I'm not leaving you. I promise." The man calmed down and was reduced to small cries and moans. Ruth's heart continued to ache as she let go of Burns' hand and allowed the desert warrior men to carry him away.

"Who are you?" Ruth asked as she fell into step with the leader.

"We are the Medjai," he answered, finally telling Ruth what she wanted to know. "For 3,000 years we have watched over Hamunaptra and tried to keep the Creature from being raised. Ruth felt guilty. 3,000 years… and they had failed. All because Ruth couldn't convince Evie to give up her search and leave.

"Medjai… Pharaoh's sacred bodyguards, right?" she asked, trying not to think about her guilt. The warrior looked impressed and nodded.

"We are their descendants, yes."

"So, why was Pharaoh's High Priest condemned to the worst curse in all of Ancient Egypt?"

"There's not enough time to explain," he told Ruth. "But, he will bring death wherever he goes. No one is safe." Ruth's guilt only increased at his words and she took a small step away from him.

"Okay, so who's Amunet?" Ruth asked.

"What?" The man faltered in his steps at Ruth's question.

"Amunet. Imhotep called me that back there. He called me 'Amunet' and wanted me to come with him. He also seemed rather interested in Evie." Ruth had noticed Imhotep's interest in her best friend. She'd been able to tell as Imhotep spoke to her, but hadn't been able to make out what he'd said.

"I have never heard the name Amunet before," the warrior told her. Ruth sagged a little in disappointment. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she had heard the name before. She just… couldn't remember where. And it bothered her.

"Okay, then," Ruth merely replied. The two fell into a slightly awkward silence as they followed the rest of the Medjai from the pits of Hamunaptra. "How…" The warrior turned to Ruth and silently egged her on. "How do we kill Imhotep?" The man turned more serious than Ruth had ever seen him before, and that was saying something because that man always seemed to be serious.

"We can't." Ruth's eyes widened and her heart plummeted at his words. Her steps faltered a little. The warrior looked at Ruth, his eyes soft with empathy. He was as worried and scared as she was. The two continued in a tense silence before Ruth felt the need to break it.

"How's your back feeling?" The warrior surprised Ruth by laughing lightly. Ruth caught a glimpse of his smile. It was nice… really nice. His eyes lit up and his serious face became even more handsome than it had already been. Ruth liked his smile.

"It is a little sore," he admitted. "And your arm?" Ruth looked down at it, noticing the red stain on her bandages.

"It's bleeding. I must've popped a stitch at some point. It doesn't hurt, but I'm sure that's because of the adrenalin."

"I'm sorry… for that," the warrior said. Ruth smiled a little.

"Me, too." The two walked the rest of the way out of Hamunaptra in silence, a comfortable silence this time. Soon, they emerged out of the city and into the night. The locusts had gone, Ruth noticed. The Medjai lined up in front of the city's entrance and waited. Ruth had returned to her spot next to Burns and took his hand, hoping to give the man a little comfort and security. All they could do was wait for their friends and family to return from within the City of the Dead.

* * *

Hey all! Here's another edited and revised chapter for you all! Hope you all like it :)

Cheerio!


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on April 18, 2016**

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**Chapter 7: Amunet**

_Hamunaptra_

The Medjai cocked their guns and took aim as O'Connell, Evie, Jonathan, Henderson, and Daniels emerged from within Hamunaptra. Ruth barely noticed that Beni was not with them and didn't know if she should've been happy or disappointed about that. The leader of the Medjai stepped forward and addressed them.

"We told you to leave or die. You refused. Now you may have killed us all," he said. His serious, intense tone had returned. "You have unleashed the Creature we have feared for more than 3,000 years."

"Relax! I got him," O'Connell said with a roll of his eyes. Ruth couldn't help but roll her eyes as well, not at the Medjai warrior, but at her brother. Imhotep was a bringer of plagues, a victim of the Hom-Dai. She highly doubted a simple bullet could stop him.

"No mortal weapon can kill this Creature," the Medjai leader insisted, confirming Ruth's thoughts. "He is not of this world." The leader waved his hand and the two Medjai warriors supporting Burns came forward. Ruth slowly let go of his hand as the warriors laid Burns down by Henderson and Daniels. The two American men immediately took their friend into their arms.

"You bastards," Daniels hissed.

"What did you do to him?" Henderson demanded practically seething. Ruth jumped in before they could do anything stupid.

"They saved him," she told them. "They saved me, too. They rescued us before the Creature could come back and finish us off."

"Ruth!" two people yelled at the same time. It was O'Connell and Evie. Ruth ran forward and was caught in Evie's arms first. The woman practically squeezed the life out of Ruth before letting her go. Ruth was sure Evie was going to go into her mother-hen mode but Rick suddenly tugged on Ruth's arm and embraced her like his life depended on it. Ruth took in her brother's familiar musky scent and immediately relaxed. As she hugged her brother back, Ruth felt her eyes well with tears. She hadn't realized how terrified she'd been until now. Ruth fisted her brother's shirt and leaned into him. Rick kept one arm firmly around his sister's waist and he stroked her hair with the other. No one noticed as the Medjai leader looked at the pair, his eyes strangely sad. Then, his normal seriousness returned.

"Now leave, all of you, quickly, before he finishes you all," he ordered. Ruth gently pulled her face away from her brother's chest. It was then she noticed Dr. Chamberlain in front of the Medjai, the Book of the Dead clutched to his chest. The leader ordered his men to lower their weapons and go into the city. "We must now go on the hunt. And try and find a way to kill him."

"I already told you, I got him," O'Connell insisted, his arms still around his baby sister. Ruth once again rolled her eyes at him, something that O'Connell missed but the Medjai leader did not.

"Know this," the leader started. "This Creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat, he will never sleep, he will never stop." The man turned to go into the city, but Ruth suddenly jumped out of her brother's embrace and grabbed his arm.

"Let me come with you." The warrior immediately shook his head.

"No, it is too dangerous," he said. Ruth merely gave him a look before lowering her voice and switching into Arabic.

_"Look, we're the reason he's alive again. At least one of us should stay and try to fix what we've done."_ The man looked like he was trying to find an argument.

_"Does it hurt?"_ Ruth's eyebrows drew together in confusion. _"Your face."_ The Medjai leader reached up and gently touched the cheek he'd cut. Once he did, Ruth hissed. He drew his hand back very quickly. _"I am sorry."_

_"Please let me help,"_ Ruth nearly begged. The leader thought for a moment.

_"Then return to Cairo. Try to find out who Amunet is. That may give us some insight into his plans."_ Ruth nodded, giving in.

_"If I find anything, who should I tell?"_

_"If I haven't arrived in Cairo in a few days, go to Dr. Bey at the Museum of Antiquities."_ Ruth nodded, agreeing. Then, Ruth gasped, realizing something.

_"It was you that day at the restaurant with Dr. Bey,"_ she said. The warrior nearly gaped. He hadn't made the connection until now. He hadn't realized that the woman Dr. Bey greeted at the restaurant was this clever woman in front of him.

_"That is how we know you were coming to Hamunaptra,"_ he said. _"Terence got in contact with us and informed us about your group."_ Ruth didn't know what to think about that. Dr. Terence Bey was a Medjai. She would've never guessed. Ruth watched as the Medjai leader then reached into his robes and withdrew something from them.

_"Here."_ Ruth couldn't help the smile that overcame her face as she saw what was in his hand. It was her dagger, the same one she'd stabbed him with.

_"Thanks…"_ Ruth suddenly looked sheepish. _"I don't know your name."_ The Medjai leader smiled a little.

_"Ardeth. Ardeth Bay."_ Ruth smiled a little.

_"Nice to meet you, Ardeth Bay. I'm Ruth O'Connell."_ Ardeth's smile grew ever so slightly as he offered his hand to Ruth. She shook it.

_"Until we meet again, Ruth O'Connell."_ And then, he turned and joined his men in the city. Ruth turned back to her friends and O'Connell approached her.

"What was that about?" he asked, not at all liking the looks and whispers that had been exchanged between his baby sister and that desert warrior guy. Last night they had nearly killed each other. Now they were whispering and exchanging light touches. Why?

"Nothing important," Ruth told him. She was lying, of course, but she recognized the gleam that had appeared in her brother's eyes. The last time she'd seen it, it was when he'd caught her kissing a boy when she was 16. He was getting protective. While Ruth truthfully didn't mind when he got like that, it wasn't necessary right now. The butterflies that flew about in her stomach when she looked at Ardeth meant nothing. Neither did the blushes on her cheeks when he gazed at her with those deep eyes of his. Neither did the burning of her skin when he touched her. Nope! Nothing at all!

After that, it took about half an hour for everyone to get their things packed up and loaded onto the horses and camels. Together, the O'Connells, the Carnahans, the Americans, Dr. Chamberlain, and what was left of their diggers, were leaving Hamunaptra.

~)8(~

_Two Days Later  
__Cairo_

It took a day, but the group had managed to get back to Cairo. Most everyone was taking refuge in Fort Brydon. Two days they'd been there. All of yesterday had been spent by everyone sleeping and resting. God knows they needed it after what they'd just been through. The next day, most everyone was planning to skip town. Ruth had returned to her apartment and was practically tearing through her small library. All day she'd been pouring over her books, but she had not been able to find any sort of reference to an 'Amunet' unless it was referring to the Egyptian Goddess. Unless Imhotep thought she was the minor goddess in human form (something she had a hard time believing) that was not what she was looking for. Ruth was only about halfway through her books around midday. She had a lot. Ruth was suddenly very thankful that she'd shipped all of her books over from London this time. But, she wasn't having any success in finding what she was looking for. It was the middle of the afternoon when her brother arrived at her flat.

"Can you believe Evelyn? She says she's staying and going to try and fix… What's all this?" O'Connell had trailed off from his little tirade about Evie upon seeing the state of Ruth's room. There were books strewn everywhere.

"Research," Ruth muttered, fearing her brother's reaction.

"Don't tell me…" Ruth remained silent and busied herself with finding a new book. "Ruth!"

"I'm staying, Rick," she said gently, trying to placate him. "I've got to help. We're the reason he's alive again. We have to fix this."

"No, this is not our fault! Evelyn's the one who read from that book. This is _her_ problem, not ours." Ruth glared a little bit at her brother.

"And she is my best friend. I'm not just going to leave her here to deal with this by herself. I'm staying here." Ruth looked back at the book she was currently scanning.

"This is about him, isn't it?" O'Connell asked. Ruth looked up, truly confused.

"What? Who?"

"That desert warrior guy. This is about him." Ruth rolled her eyes. Now was not the time for Rick to go into his protective older brother mode.

"No, it's not," Ruth said. "But, he did ask me to do research and try to find out what the Creature could be planning."

"And you're actually doing it?"

"Of course!" O'Connell stared at his little sister for a few seconds.

"I knew it," he breathed.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Ruth asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If it's that he's got you wrapped around his finger, then yes," O'Connell replied. Ruth rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please," she groaned.

"You aren't even denying it!" Ruth hated lying to her brother. She really hated it. So instead of admitting that she thought the man was attractive and honorable, she turned the argument around on him.

"Oh, because you and Evie haven't been making eyes at each other ever since you met," Ruth shot back at O'Connell.

"No we haven't!"

"Oh, whatever! This isn't about Ardeth! This isn't even about Evie! This is about doing the right thing, Rick. This is about doing what's right." O'Connell didn't have a reply for that, but even if he did, he couldn't get a word in. Ruth was just getting warmed up. "And I'm not surprised you're running away. You've always done what's best and easiest for you, Rick. You either run away from your problems or you shoot them. You drink away your sorrows and spend unnecessary time at Kasbahs. You got thrown in jail and nearly hanged because you were looking for a good time." O'Connell was silent. "I just wish you would do the right thing for once."

"I'm leaving on that boat tomorrow. You can either stay or come with me," O'Connell said, trying to sound unaffected by his sister's words.

"I'm staying." O'Connell looked sad at that answer, nearly heartbroken really. But after two seconds, his face hardened and he stalked out of the room. Ruth flinched when he nearly slammed her flat's door, but didn't dare go after him. As guilty as she felt for saying what she did, part of her was glad she had. It was true… most of it. Ruth truly felt that her brother always took the easy way out, but she knew how untrue it was. Ruth shook her head. She could apologize later when the world wasn't coming to an end. In the meantime, she had to try and do whatever she could to stop Imhotep. So, Ruth picked up her book and got back to researching. After about another hour, Ruth had to stop. Spots were beginning to dance in her vision and her head was pounding. Ruth threw down her book and left her room. As she entered her kitchen to prepare herself some more coffee, the hairs on the back of Ruth's neck stood up. Someone was watching her. Ruth slowly reached down to her boot to remove a knife when a familiar voice cut through the air.

_"Relax."_ Ruth knew that voice. As she turned around, she was surprised to see Ardeth standing in her living room.

"How did you get in?" Ruth asked. Truthfully, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Have you found anything?" Ardeth asked. Ruth sighed.

"No," she answered truthfully. "Amunet is an Egyptian goddess, but I really don't think that's what Imhotep was referring to when he spoke to me." Ardeth nodded, agreeing with her. Sure, Imhotep was a High Priest, but he doubted Imhotep would suddenly believe Ruth O'Connell was an Egyptian goddess in human form.

"Any progress on your side?" Ruth asked him. Ardeth shook his head.

"Imhotep has left Hamunaptra. We have been unable to discern a way to kill him." Ruth looked down, disappointed.

"So we know nothing," she realized. Ruth ran her hands through her bandana-less hair, mussing her bun a little.

"Yes," Ardeth admitted a little hesitantly. Though she probably couldn't tell, Ardeth was as frustrated as Ruth. The woman sighed and sat down on a little armchair she had in her living. She looked up at Ardeth with an incredibly sad look that confused him and made his heart pang.

"I'm sorry," Ruth whispered. "I'm so sorry, Ardeth. Please forgive me." Ardeth's eyes widened a little at Ruth's words. The woman tore her gaze away from him, unwilling to look at him while he was angry. Little did Ruth know that Ardeth was in no way, shape, or form angry.

"Miss O'Connell… what are you talking about?" Ruth bit her lip, as if she were trying to force back tears.

"I promised I'd talk to my friends. I said I would try to get them to leave. I _promised_. I should have tried harder. And because of me, Imhotep is alive and bringing about the end of the world. This is all my fault." With that, tears began to stream down Ruth's face. Ruth buried her face into her hands, trying to smother her cries, but it wasn't working. As Ruth sat there, her back shaking a little as she cried, Ardeth stood there stunned. She was… apologizing? Ardeth was not used to this. He had never really had to comfort and crying woman before. But for Ruth… this clever, strong woman in front of him, he had to try. Ardeth kneeled down in front of Ruth and gently moved her hands away from her face. They were wet with tears, but he ignored it. Ardeth gently clasped Ruth's small, but calloused hands in his larger, even more calloused ones.

"Ruth, look at me." The woman did no such thing. "_Farashatan_, please." Surprisingly, neither the translator nor the warrior noticed as the endearment slipped from his lips. However, his plead did the trick. Ruth slowly lifted her face to look at Ardeth, her cheeks wet and her amber eyes glistening with more tears. Ardeth slowly let go of one of Ruth's hands. He touched her face with a touch so soft Ruth barely felt it. His thumb gently dried her face.

"Did you talk to your friends?" Ruth nodded. "Did you try to convince them to leave Hamunaptra?" Again, she nodded. "Did they listen?" Well that was obvious. Ruth shook her head. "But you did try?" Ruth nodded. "Then please do not blame yourself. You kept your promise. You tried. That's all I could've ever asked for. And…" Ruth raised an eyebrow a bit, telling Ardeth to go on. "I wasn't exactly… forthcoming about what would happen if you stayed."

"You didn't know we'd found Imhotep or the book. I wasn't very forthcoming either," Ruth said. "Still… I would've believed you. You could've told me." Ardeth believed her.

"I know," he told her. "None but the Medjai have known about the Creature for 3,000 years. We've told no one outside of our members. And while I know you would've believed me, would your friends have believed you?" No, they wouldn't have. Even Rick who had believed there was something evil about Hamunaptra wouldn't have believed that.

"We cannot change what happened," Ardeth continued. "But we can try and stop Imhotep before he fully regenerates." Ruth nodded. It was only then the two realized Ardeth's hand was still resting lightly on Ruth's cheek. Ardeth pulled his hand away quickly, almost like he'd been burned. Ruth quickly let go of his other hand as well. Neither one noticed the small flush on the other's cheeks.

"Right then," Ruth said, clearing her throat a little. "Back to research." Ardeth nodded. "If you're staying, can I get you anything? Water? Tea?" Ardeth accepted tea with a nod and Ruth quickly retreated into the kitchen to make it. As she boiled the water and got out the tea leaves, she tried to ignore her racing heart and the butterflies that were swarming through her stomach. After she finished preparing the tea, she took Ardeth's mug to him. He was currently admiring Ruth's not-so-small knife collection. It was by chance that the two took sips of their tea at the same time. Both of them immediately recoiled and spit the tea out in complete disgust.

"Oh, God," Ruth cried. "What was that?" Then, the familiarity of the flavor hit her. Ruth's face dropped. It seemed that Ardeth had realized the same thing, because he was looking at Ruth very seriously. Ruth rushed back into her kitchen, Ardeth right behind her, and she quickly turned on her tap. The water was running red.

"And the rivers and waters of Egypt ran red, and were as blood," Ruth whispered. She and Ardeth looked at each other.

"He's here," Ardeth said. Ruth immediately dashed off through her flat. "Ruth! What are you doing?"

"My brother's out there. So's Evie. So's Jonathan, and Burns, and Henderson, and Daniels, and Dr. Chamberlain. I've got to find them, make sure they're okay."

"If he finds you he'll kill you," Ardeth said as he followed Ruth around her flat. She was currently in her bedroom, fastening her belt around her waist.

"I can't just leave them!" Ruth cried. She ran to her knife cabinet and grabbed another knife to slide into her boot (she still had one but Evie had lost her other one in Hamunaptra). She then grabbed her normal four other knives and strapped them to her belt. Then, she dashed to her gun cabinet. "Ardeth, if he's out there we're all already in danger. It doesn't matter where we are." Ruth took her two 9mm pistols out of the cabinet and strapped them and their holsters to her belt. She then grabbed two extra clips and slid them into her pockets. Ruth then took a fully loaded revolver and tucked it behind her belt. Ardeth watched as she did this.

"Swords…" Ruth was muttering to herself as she dashed around her flat. "Where are my swords?" Ardeth spotted them leaning against the wall in her bedroom. He quickly snatched them up and held them out for Ruth. The woman shot him a thankful look and quickly strapped them to her back. With all her weapons on, Ruth made to rush out of her flat when Ardeth grabbed her wrist.

"Just… be careful." Ruth nodded.

"Always. Where can I find you after this?"

"The museum. I need to speak with Dr. Bey. He knows the situation and has been doing research. I need to check in with him." Ruth nodded again. She was hesitating, seeming to want to say something else, but she couldn't come up with anything. So, she turned and dashed from her flat and out into Cairo. Ruth didn't live too far from Fort Brydon. At a dead sprint, she was there within a few minutes. When she got there, Ruth quickly found her brother talking to Evie.

"There's a problem," Ruth panted as she ran up to them.

"Yeah, we know," O'Connell replied. "He's here." Suddenly, there was a clap of thunder. O'Connell, Evie, and Ruth turned and looked at the sky. Their eyes widened. It was hailing. Fire and hail: another plague.

"Oh, he's definitely here," Ruth breathed. Then, her eyes widened. "Bernie… Where's Burns?" O'Connell grabbed Ruth's hand and rushed off, Evie following them. They quickly got to Burns' building. They were about to ascend the stairs when they saw Beni descending them. Beni caught sight of the O'Connells and tried to escape.

"Hey!" O'Connell cried. He pinned Beni against the wall and Ruth pressed one of her guns against his chest. "Beni, you little stinkweed. Where you been?" There was a mighty roar coming from upstairs and both O'Connells turned their gazes towards it. This gave Beni time to escape. Ruth seethed, but let it go for now. He was much less important than Burns and Imhotep. Ruth dashed up the stairs of the building, her brother and best friend right behind her. When the three finally burst into the room, they were met with the sight of a dead body sitting in a chair. The body looked like an unwrapped mummy: a skeleton, dry skin, and some hair. And judging by the clothing and empty eye sockets, it was Bernie Burns. Ruth very nearly threw up. Ruth heard a noise and lifted her gun along with her brother. The three turned and watched as Imhotep began to grow muscle and tissue. He was regenerating.

The Creature turned and roared at them.

"We are in serious trouble," O'Connell muttered. Well, no shit, Sherlock! Imhotep came towards them. Despite knowing it wouldn't kill him, both O'Connells began to shoot him. Evie cried out slightly as they did so, but Imhotep seemed completely unfazed by it. He just kept advancing. Then, Imhotep did something extremely surprising. He gently pushed past Ruth and threw O'Connell across the room. Ruth gaped at the turn of events as Imhotep turned back to her, his eyes soft with emotion.

_"You are forgiven, my dear Amunet."_ Ancient Egyptian again. Despite Ruth cringing away from him, Imhotep gently stroked her cheek, the same cheek Ardeth had been caressing not even an hour ago. Imhotep didn't seem to notice as Ruth flinched from his touch. He eventually pulled his hand away and turned to Evie. Again, Ruth couldn't make out what he was saying to her, but she saw him lean in towards her, as if he was going to kiss her. Evie cringed and tried to get away. Ruth didn't blame her one bit. Then, the piano in the room sounded. Everyone in the room turned and saw Evie's white cat. Imhotep immediately shrieked and backed away. The cat saw him and hissed, making Imhotep shriek again. Then, he turned into sand and flew away.

"We are in very serious trouble," O'Connell said. Ruth looked at Evie.

"You okay?" she asked her best friend. She didn't look okay at all, but all the same, she nodded.

"Yes. Are you?" Again, Ruth did not look okay at all, but she nodded and holstered her gun.

~)8(~

O'Connell, Evie, Jonathan, Henderson, Daniels, and Ruth were making their way through the Museum of Antiquities. Ruth had wanted to suggest they go to Dr. Bey for help, simply so she could check in with Ardeth and see if he learned anything (and also to make sure he was okay but she would never admit that). In the end, she didn't have to, as Evie had suggested they go there and ask for Dr. Bey's advice. They were all hoping he could shed some light on the situation.

"He does seem to like Evie, Ruth as well," Jonathan said. He was referring to how Imhotep seemed to have taken an interest in the two women.

"Yeah, what's that about?" O'Connell asked, not at all liking the way the mummy was treating his sister and her best friend.

"What's this guy want anyway?" Daniels asked.

"There's only one person I know that could possibly give us any answers," Evie said. The group of six turned into an exhibition room, only to find Dr. Bey inside with Ardeth.

"You!" Evie cried upon seeing the Medjai Chieftain. O'Connell, Jonathan, Henderson, and Daniels drew their weapons on him, making Ruth roll her eyes a little.

"Miss Carnahan," Dr. Bey greeted dryly. "Gentlemen. Miss O'Connell."

"Hello, Dr. Bey," Ruth greeted back. She approached the two men. "Ardeth."

"What is he doing here?" Evie demanded while she stared unhappily at the Medjai Chieftain.

"Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" Dr. Bey said. O'Connell immediately put away his gun. He looked at Ardeth.

"Ruth seems to trust you. And after what I've seen, I'm willing to go on a little bit of faith." Everyone sat down around the exhibition room and listened to Dr. Bey.

"We are part of an ancient secret society," he explained. "For over 3,000 years we have guarded the City of the Dead. We are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world."

"And now, because of you, we have failed," Ardeth added. While he had been telling Ruth but a few hours earlier than none of this was her fault (and he truly believed that), it technically was their fault this had happened. While none of them realized what they were doing when they read from the Book of the Dead, they still resurrected Imhotep.

"And you think this justifies the killing of innocent people?" Evie asked incredulously, her tone reminiscent of Ruth's when she had spoken with Ardeth atop the ridge.

"To stop this Creature? Let me think…" Dr. Bey started.

"Yes!" he and Ardeth finished together. Evie didn't reply.

"Question. Why doesn't he like cats?" O'Connell asked.

"Cats are the guardians of the Underworld," Ruth answered.

"He will fear them until he is fully regenerated," Dr. Bey added.

"And then he will fear nothing," Ardeth finished.

"Yeah, and you know how he gets himself fully regenerated?" Daniels asked, panic coloring his tone.

"By killing everyone who opened that chest," Henderson said with a quiet resignation.

"And sucking them dry, that's how!" Daniels finished, his panic having raised his voice to a yell.

"Jonathan, will you stop playing with that?" Evie scolded her brother as he started fiddling with the artifacts. She turned to Dr. Bey. "When I saw him alive at Hamunaptra, he called me Anck-su-namun." This time, Ruth did not recognize the name. But apparently, Dr. Bey and Ardeth did, as the two men looked at each other very suddenly upon hearing the name. "And just now in Mr. Burns' quarters he tried to kiss me."

"It was because of his love for Anck-su-namun that he was cursed. Apparently after even 3,000 years-" Dr. Bey mused.

"He is still in love with her," Ardeth said cutting him off.

"Yes, well, that's very romantic, but what has it got to do with me?" Evie asked.

"Perhaps he will once again try to raise her from the dead," Ardeth said to Dr. Bey.

"Yes. It appears he has already chosen his human sacrifice," Dr. Bey replied. At this, everyone in the room looked at Evie, sympathy in all their eyes.

"Bad luck, old mum," Jonathan said.

"On the contrary," Dr. Bey said while standing up. Everyone turned to him. "It may just give us the time we need to kill the Creature."

"Okay, wait," O'Connell spoke up. "What about Ruth? What does Imhotep want with her?" Dr. Bey turned a questioning gaze upon the woman. She saw the look and turned to Ardeth.

"You didn't tell him?" she asked the Medjai Chieftain.

"I was getting to that when you arrived," he said. Ruth nodded. "And you still haven't remembered or found where you've read the name before?" Ruth shook her head in frustration.

"What name?" Dr. Bey asked.

"Amunet," Ruth answered. "That's what he called me when he saw me at Hamunaptra." Dr. Bey was frowning.

"I've read that name before," he said. "Although, I can't remember where."

"Me either," Ruth said.

"Wait, who's Amunet?" Evie asked.

"That's the thing, Eves. We don't know. Neither of us can remember where we've read the name before." Ruth began to pace at the front of the exhibition room and she continued to muss her hair. "Okay, Amunet is a minor Egyptian goddess, but that's not it. Okay, think, Ruth, think! Okay, whoever she was, Imhotep knew her. Let's see, relative, friend, priestess, no… Wait…" Ruth trailed off and everyone stared at her. "'Amunet' means 'secret' or' hidden one'."

"So?" Jonathan asked. Something clicked in Ruth's mind. An old myth. It had been quick. Less than a page of information. It had been in the same book she'd found the information about Imhotep in. And that book… it was in the library here at the museum.

"The library… the book's in the library…" Ruth breathed. Everyone blinked in surprise as Ruth suddenly dashed out of the room. The woman was barely aware that someone had run after her as she raced through the museum. The library, of course, was still a complete mess. However, if the book had been shelved when the bookshelves fell, then it would be in the general vicinity of that bookshelf. Ruth dashed over to 'S' and began digging around.

"What are you looking for?" Apparently, the person who'd followed her had been Ardeth.

"I'm looking for-Got it!" Ruth cried. Ruth stood up straight, clutching a very thick volume in her hands. She held it up in triumph and turned around. She found that Ardeth was standing behind her. _Right_ behind her. Ruth had cried out a little at his proximity to her and fallen backwards. Ardeth's eyes widened and he reached forward to catch Ruth, but only succeeded in falling down on top of her. Both gave little "oomphs" as they hit the floor. Ruth felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. And Lord, her face was so hot it probably looked like a tomato. However, she couldn't tear her gaze away from Ardeth's deep eyes. She was drowning in them. And she couldn't bring herself to care.

Ruth doubted that she'd ever met a man who was more dedicated than Ardeth. He was dedicated to his men, to his role as Chieftain of the Medjai, to his beliefs… Everything Ardeth did was driven by his dedication and his care and love for his people and his life as a Medjai. This was amazing to Ruth. She was used to Jonathan, who was lazy and dishonest and uncaring about others and his own career. She was also used to Rick, who while being dedicated to those he cared about, really didn't care about much or anyone other than Ruth and maybe Evie. She was also used to Evie, whose ambition was strong, but got in the way of what she was currently doing. Evie was either studying the past or looking ahead to the future, never working in the present to get herself to where she wanted to be. But Ardeth… Every single one of his actions was motivated by his care and dedication. Ardeth most definitely came off as stoic, brusque even. Ruth had thought so at first. But looking into his eyes now and seeing the endless emotion in them, she realized how wrong she had been. Ardeth cared more than possibly anyone she had ever met. He just didn't always show it. And well… Ruth found that more endearing than she was willing to admit.

"I, um, apologize," Ardeth said quietly. Ruth felt a little better, knowing that he felt as awkward as she did. However, Ardeth made no move to get up.

"It's okay," Ruth managed to get out. God, this tension was nearly choking her. "I managed to hold onto the book." Surprisingly, Ardeth chuckled. Ruth smiled, glad that her lame attempt to break the tension had gotten a smile and laugh out of him. However, it seemed to have worked. Ardeth heaved himself up before holding out a hand for Ruth. The woman blushed slightly as his large, warm hand encased her own. They felt like they… fit. She clutched the book to her chest as the two walked back to the exhibition room everyone else was gathered in. As the two walked in a comfortable silence, neither of them were aware that they had never let go of each other's hands.

"Did you find it?" Dr. Bey asked as the two returned. The two immediately dropped their hands and Ruth went to open the book. She didn't notice as O'Connell narrowed his eyes, having noticed that the Medjai Chieftain and his baby sister had been holding hands.

Ruth took a minute to flip through the large volume. Eventually, she found the story and began to summarize it for everyone.

"Okay, this is a book about the life of Seti I and the mysteries and unanswered questions surrounding it and his death. Now we know that that's because of Imhotep. He's been practically erased from history. In here it talks about one of the theories surrounding Seti I's death. There's the whole love triangle between Seti I, Imhotep, and Anck-su-namun, though her name is never mentioned in here. Well, in here it speaks about the possibility that Imhotep and Anck-su-namun killed Seti I for their love, which we all now know to be true. But, some historians who are familiar with that version of the tale believe that Imhotep and Anck-su-namun were together far longer than anyone had ever anticipated. Long enough to have a child." It was already silent in the room, but everyone seemed to hold their breaths at this. "Being Pharaoh's mistress, Anck-su-namun lied and told Seti the child was his when in fact, it was Imhotep's. When she was born, they named the child Amunet, for 'secret' or 'hidden one'. Because the girl's true parentage would always remain a secret. However, the girl was apparently born three months premature and died one month later." No one thought it was possible for the room to get even quieter, but it did. "It's said that when Imhotep tried to raise Anck-su-namun from the dead, he also tried to raise their daughter, Amunet. Should Imhotep ever arise, he would surely try to wake not only his love, but their daughter as well." Ruth slowly closed the large book and looked around at everyone in the room.

"A human sacrifice would not only bring Amunet back, but it would bring her back healthy," Dr. Bey said. "This will give us even more time to figure out how to kill the Creature."

"We will need all the help we can get," Ardeth spoke. Ruth followed his gaze and her eyes widened. "His powers are growing." Everyone watched the solar eclipse through the skylight. The room gradually grew darker around them. This was Darkness, the ninth plague (though they didn't seem to be happening in any particular order) and the fourth they had experienced.

"And he stretched forth his hand towards the heavens, and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt." Imhotep was definitely getting stronger. And if he was getting stronger, they were all in trouble.

* * *

Hey all! Here's another edited and revised chapter. Hope you all like it! We'll probably get a few more today as well :)

Cheerio!


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on April 18, 2016**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Kamilah**

_Cairo_

"We must stop him from regenerating!" Evie cried. "Who opened that chest?" O'Connell, Evie, Jonathan, Henderson, Daniels, and Ruth had all returned to Fort Brydon. They were all gathered inside the room Evie had been given. The solar eclipse was still happening outside.

"Well there was me and Daniels, here," Henderson listed. "Oh, and Burns of course." Ruth's heart panged at the mention of their fallen friend.

"And that Egyptologist fella," Daniels said. He must've been talking about Dr. Chamberlain.

"What about our buddy Beni?" O'Connell asked.

"Nah, he scrammed out of there before we opened the damn thing," Daniels said.

"Yeah, he was the smart one," Henderson added.

"Yeah, that sounds like Beni," Ruth muttered.

"Find the Egyptologist and bring him back to the safety of the fort before the Creature can get to him," Evie said. Ruth nodded in agreement. That was the only way to keep Imhotep from reaching full power.

"Right," O'Connell said. "She stays here. You three come with me." There was an outburst. O'Connell had been tempted to tell his sister to stay behind, but after the way they'd fought earlier today, he wasn't going to go looking for Round Two. However, the other four people began protesting at the orders he'd given them. The three men didn't want to leave the fort, and Evie refused to be left behind.

"O'Connell! What do you think you are doing!" Evie shrieked as O'Connell picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her into her bedroom, Evie still protesting. O'Connell dropped Evie onto her bed and came marching out of the room, closing and locking the door before Evie could stop him. O'Connell grabbed Daniels by his collar.

"This door doesn't open. She doesn't come out and no one goes in," O'Connell said in a low, threatening voice. "Right?"

"Right," Daniels immediately agreed. O'Connell looked at Henderson.

"Right?"

"Right." O'Connell turned and tossed the key to Ruth. She was still yelling from the other side of the door.

"Let's go, Jonathan," O'Connell said as he began to walk out.

"I thought I'd just… stay the fort and-"

"Now!"

"Right." The two of them walked out, leaving Ruth alone with the still yelling Evie and the two American men. Ruth went over and sat down on the couch near the window before removing some of her weapons. If she would be staying here for a while, might as well get comfortable. She doubted Imhotep would find them very soon if he found them at all.

"Hey, Two?" Ruth looked up from taking off her swords and looked at Daniels. "Why didn't you go with O'Connell?"

"Because if I had and we managed to find Beni, I doubt I would have been able to keep myself from killing him," she told them honestly. Both Henderson and Daniels looked a little thrown at her answer.

"What did he do to you?" Henderson asked. Ruth sighed a little.

"Do you really want to know?" Both men nodded. "Did he tell you what happened the last time he was in Hamunaptra?" Both men shook their heads.

"We tried to get him to tell us, but he never would," Daniels said.

"He's probably not very proud of it," Ruth said. "Plus, you probably wouldn't have hired him if you knew." The two men merely looked at Ruth, prompting her to continue. "Beni was telling the truth when he said everyone called me 'Two' because I was the second O'Connell. What he didn't tell you was that no one called me by my name because no one knew I was a woman. Women aren't exactly allowed in the French Foreign Legion." Henderson and Daniels looked a little surprised to find out that Ruth had been in the military. "Rick, Beni, and our commanding officer were the only ones who knew my true identity. Anyway, three years ago, our garrison managed to find Hamunaptra, but we were fought for it. Tuaregs. Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't like Beni even before, but this only made me hate him. He abandoned us. He wasn't the only one. Others were terrified and would've rather braved the desert than an army of Tuaregs. The Tuaregs vastly outnumbered us. Within minutes, most of our garrison was lying dead in the sand." Ruth took a deep breath before continuing. "Rick needed cover. He was going to die if he didn't get it. He ran for the city. He tried to get inside, only for Beni to shut the door in his face. Beni left my brother to die. He left the entire garrison to die. It was only by sheer luck the both of us made it out of there alive. And we were the only ones besides Beni who survived. And even then, but the time we made it back to civilization, both Rick and I were nearly dying of dehydration. I hate Beni for what he did to my brother, to us. My brother nearly died that day because of him, and for that, I will _never_ forgive him." Henderson and Daniels were stunned silent at their story. "I was 19." Their jaws dropped.

"19?" Both of them exclaimed. Ruth merely nodded. The room was left in a tense silence as the two men decided it was best not to ask any more questions. They could understand why Ruth hated Beni. They hadn't really liked the little weasel before, but what he did… They now liked him even less. Plus, he was now working for the undead thing that had killed their friend and was coming after them. It was very safe to say they didn't like Beni at all. A little while later, Daniels decided to go down to the bar, leaving Ruth alone with Henderson.

"Quit pacing, will you?" Ruth eventually asked, making the blonde man pause in his steps.

"Sorry," he quickly said. "It's just a little hard to relax when you've got a mummy after you."

"He's after me, too," Ruth reminded him lightly.

"Yeah, why is that?" Henderson asked. "He could've chosen anyone to be his sacrifices. Why you and Evie?" Ruth had to admit, Henderson brought up a good point. Why _had_ Imhotep chosen them?

"I don't know," Ruth admitted. "Maybe it's because we're women and he's trying to resurrect women? Maybe it's because we're the youngest? Maybe it's because we were there and convenient. We may never know why he chose us." Henderson nodded. Ruth honestly had no idea why Imhotep had chosen her and Evie. Frankly, she didn't really care. She just wanted all of this to be over. Two weeks ago, Ruth would've barely imagined she would get to see her brother again so soon, let alone that they would go back to Hamunaptra together only to be chased down by a mummy they'd accidentally resurrected.

Ruth noticed that Evie had finally fallen silent on the other side of the door. She probably realized there was no way she was getting out. Ruth felt sad that she was keeping her best friend locked up, but it truly was for the girl's own good. Evie was not a fighter. She couldn't punch nor shoot a gun. If she was out there and she somehow got separated from either herself or Rick… the girl wouldn't stand a chance, as much as it pained Ruth to admit so.

"How do you do it?" Henderson asked Ruth. "How are you so relaxed?" Ruth frowned.

"If you think I'm relaxed then you're wrong. I'm scared. Hell, I'm freaking terrified. I just… when I have something particularly troubling on my mind, I do random things to distract myself."

"Like what?"

"I sing out of tune, I dance ridiculously, I play piano like an untrained lunatic, I reenact my favorite books, I play with my hair. Just silly, little things that can take my mind off my troubles."

"And they work?" Henderson asked. Ruth nodded. "What should I do?"

"I don't know. I'm serious, though. It's the little, normally monotonous or silly things that truly help in the end. Clean your guns, twirl them around, talk to yourself in a cockney accent, I don't know. Just keep it down. Wake me up if anything happens." With that, Ruth lay down on the couch and closed her eyes. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy talking to Henderson. He was actually a good guy when he wasn't flirting or being a pompous arse. But Ruth was seriously tired. She hadn't slept in about 48 hours (she hadn't been able to sleep at all that first day back in Cairo). Despite the tension in her body and her hyperactive brain, Ruth was actually able to fall asleep within minutes of closing her eyes.

~)8(~

_A woman walked through the halls of the palace. She was dressed in a flowing black dress. The gown hugged her upper body and wrapped around her neck in a halter top. Her back was bare, leaving her mark on view for everyone. A golden belt was around her waist. The sleeves of her dress were completely sheer and golden cuffs sat on her wrists. On her feet were golden sandals. Her amber eyes were painted with gold and lined with kohl. Her lips were lightly painted with gold as well, as were her nails. Her black hair was woven into an updo, decorated with only the butterfly hair comb given to her by her people. The woman normally did not dress this way, but today was a very special occasion. It was the birthday of Princess Nefertiri, one of King Seti's daughters. Nefertiri was older than her, but the woman considered her to be one of her dearest friends. Her father had been kind enough to invite her to celebrations. The woman walked into the throne room and bowed before the throned King and Princess. _

"_My King," she greeted. "My Princess."_

"_Rise, Kamilah," Seti told the woman. She did so. "Welcome, my dear friend." Nefertiri took this as her chance to come down and embrace her friend. Kamilah happily returned it. _

"_Thank you for coming, Kamilah!" Nefertiri's dark hazel eyes shone as she smiled. Kamilah smiled as well, her amber eyes lightening. _

"_I would never miss this," she replied. Kamilah beckoned her men forward. Yes, she had men. They were her escorts for the night. King Seti had insisted. Three of the men placed gifts by Nefertiri's throne and the fourth placed a gift by King Seti's throne. The men bowed at the royals before bowing to Kamilah. Then, they took their places as guards for the party. _

_Kamilah looked at her friend. She was dressed in a beautiful, pure white gown. Her dark hair was down and decorated with gold. Her arms and neck were adorned with the best jewelry. Her makeup was absolutely beautiful and brought out her eyes. She looked amazing._

"_You look beautiful, Neffy," Kamilah told her. The princess beamed. _

"_You, too, Kammie," she replied. _

"_Nefertiri," King Seti called. It was his subtle way of telling her to come back to him. She still had lots of other guests to greet. Nefertiri obeyed and sat back down on her throne. Kamilah bowed to the both of them one last time before turned to go into the banquet room. _

"_Kamilah," King Seti called. She turned back to him. "I wish to speak with you later."_

"_Of course, Sire," she replied. She bowed her head and entered the banquet room. She saw guards lining the walls of the room, garbed in their normal attire. The banquet room was absolutely bristling with elaborately dressed guests. _

"_Kamilah," the woman heard from behind her. She turned and saw King Seti's High Priest, Imhotep. There was a small smile on his face as he greeted the woman._

"_Hello, Imhotep," Kamilah replied, a little smile on her face as well. "Are you well this evening?" While Kamilah wasn't at all close with Imhotep (she barely knew him at all, in fact), she respected the man. He was one of King Seti's most trusted priests and advisors. Plus, she had no reason whatsoever not to trust him. However, he hadn't given Kamilah a reason to trust him either. _

"_I am," he replied. "The Gods have smiled upon our Princess and granted us another year with her." Kamilah smiled and nodded. _

"_Yes, indeed they have."_

"_And you? Are you well?" he asked._

"_I am. Things have been calm lately," Kamilah replied. _

"_Why, Kamilah," she heard. Both Imhotep and Kamilah turned to see King Seti's mistress, Anck-su-namun, coming towards them. "What a surprise. I thought you'd be here, but not as a guest." _

"_I think our Princess insisted I have the night off tonight," Kamilah replied. Anck-su-namun was like Imhotep in that Kamilah truly didn't know her all that well at all. But like Imhotep, she had given Kamilah no reason trust or not trust her. However, Kamilah knew Nefertiri absolutely despised the woman. And Kamilah had noticed the looks exchanged between Seti's High Priest and his mistress. She truly hoped that the two would never act on their feelings for each other if they valued their lives. _

"_Well, let's just hope your men will cope without you for the night." Kamilah knew Anck-su-namun was not trying to sound rude, but it stung a little to think that she might not trust her men. Everyone in the kingdom trusted the Medjai. They were King Seti's bodyguards. Everyone figured that if King Seti trusted them, then they could as well. _

"_Yes, let's." Kamilah barely finished her sentence when Pharaoh and his daughter walked into the banquet room. At once, everyone got down and bowed before them. They rose when they were told to. Both King Seti and Princess Nefertiri made speeches and there was a promise of entertainment later. Everyone applauded and the banquet began. Before anyone else got the chance to greet Kamilah, King Seti made his way towards her. _

"_We shall speak outside," he said. Kamilah had no choice but to follow. He led her out of the banquet room and onto a balcony. The pair overlooked the kingdom while he spoke. "I have a favor to ask." _

"_Anything, my King," Kamilah replied, not quite sure where this was going. _

"_I want you to fight Anck-su-namun later tonight." Kamilah's eyes widened. She had not been expecting that. She knew Anck-su-namun was a rather skilled fighter, but Kamilah was known as one of the best fighters in the kingdom. Anck-su-namun must've been good if King Seti wanted her to fight a Medjai. _

"_May I ask why?" Kamilah respectfully requested. _

"_I would like my daughter to train under one of you. I want to evaluate the both of you and decide," he told her. _

"_Of course." _

"_Now, how are you?" King Seti asked. Kamilah knew what he was talking about and answered honestly._

"_I'm okay, my King. Truly, I am." He nodded and fell silent. Kamilah fell into her thoughts. King Seti had been talking about the night Kamilah's father died. He had been Chieftain of the Medjai, a much-beloved one. He had died 10 years ago to the day. Kamilah had only been 11. Her older brother, Jabari, had already gone his own way by that time and her father had yet to pick a successor, so the role fell to Kamilah. She trained until she reached adulthood, and then she became the first female Chieftain (and the first female Medjai ever). She was in charge of keeping King Seti safe. She and her men were fierce warriors that had dedicated their lives to keeping the royal family safe. _

"_And have you picked a successor?" King Seti asked Kamilah. She nodded. She had yet to inform her men, but she had come to a decision._

"_Yes, I have. I believe you will approve," she said to Pharaoh. _

"_You have chosen Asim." It was not a question. _

"_I have."_

"_And have you told him?"_

"_Not yet. I was planning to in one month," she said. King Seti nodded. She was planning to tell her men about her decision on her birthday next month. _

"_Good," King Seti said. "Shall we return to the banquet?" Kamilah nodded and the pair returned to the celebration. Many people came forward to greet Pharaoh and Kamilah quietly slipped to the side of the room where one of her men was posted. _

"_How are things?" she asked. Asim cracked a smile. _

"_You are not on duty tonight," he said with amusement. _

"_That does not mean I can't check in," Kamilah replied. "How are things?"_

"_All is well, Kamilah," Asim assured her. "Do not worry."_

"_I'm not." Asim glanced down at her, a look on his face indicating he did not believe her. His deep eyes captured her amber ones. "Fine, I am. I just want Nefertiri to be safe." _

"_She is, Kamilah," Asim said. "We've got this under control. Have faith in us." Kamilah looked at Asim for that. _

"_You believe I don't have faith in you?" Asim's normally neutral expression softened. _

"_I did not mean that," he said. "Kamilah, I-" Asim suddenly cut himself off as he stared at Kamilah's hair. "You're wearing it." Kamilah flushed a little and reached up to touch the butterfly comb in her hair. Her men had gifted it to her when she had come of age. Asim had been the one to orchestrate it. She loved the comb. Of course she was wearing it. _

"_Of course I'm wearing it," Kamilah said with a little laugh. Asim smiled. _

"_You look beautiful," he told her quietly, his eyes never leaving hers. Kamilah flushed a little at his deep gaze, but didn't dare break away. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat and Kamilah was forced to turn away. _

"_My lady, it is time," a servant told her. It must've been time for her to fight Anck-su-namun. Kamilah bit back her anger and nodded. She followed the servant out of the banquet room and through the palace, frustrated that she could not keep talking to Asim. Oh, Asim… He had always been one of Kamilah's closest friends. He was a fine warrior, the best in the kingdom. Many believed him so skilled a fighter, that he had been gifted with his skills by the Sun God Ra himself. Every time an enemy died by his hand, there seemed to be a whisper on the wind saying, "Death by Ra." _

_Not only was Asim a great warrior, but he was an even better man. He was dedicated and cared deeply about his fellow Medjai and the royal family. He cared more than anyone Kamilah had ever met. He had always been someone Kamilah could trust and rely on. She could speak with him and not worry about him divulging the information to others. However, in recent years, Kamilah had grown to care for him more than her perhaps… appropriate. She was not blind to how handsome he was with his deep brown eyes and his raven hair. But it wasn't just that. He was truly the best man she had ever met. Kamilah wished to tell him, but she couldn't. For unknown reasons, her father's dying wish had been that she never marry. And as much as she loved Asim, she loved her father more. She could respect his wish. _

_Kamilah shook herself out of her thoughts as the servant led her into a small chamber. There were new garments laid out for her and the servant girl helped her into them. All of her jewelry was removed, including the butterfly comb. Kamilah's hair was let down as well. The servant combed through it and let it hang loose. Kamilah slipped into the black loincloth and bikini top. She then slipped on the new bracelets and armbands given to her. Kamilah was left barefoot. The servant handed Kamilah a mask, the face of a cat. It was the goddess Bastet, the symbol of protection and family. Kamilah smiled a bit before sliding it over her face. Then, she grasped her Sais in her hands and followed the servant from the chamber. Once they reached the banquet hall, Kamilah heard King Seti announcing the 'entertainment'. When the doors opened and Kamilah stepped into the room, the first person she saw was Anck-su-namun._

_She was dressed very similarly to Kamilah, only in gold instead of black. She also wore a mask over her face. Instead of Bastet, it was Hathor, the symbol of beauty and fertility. How fitting for someone who was technically a concubine. In her hands were a pair of sais._

_The two women stepped towards each other. Anck-su-namun was several inches taller than Kamilah. While she was quite lean, her height brought her strength. Kamilah was shorter and just as lean, bringing her speed. Kamilah had no idea what to expect from this fight, so she mentally prepared herself for anything. _

_Anck-su-namun made the first move. She leaped towards Kamilah, but the Medjai dodged to the right. She moved around, swiping at the mistress. The women's blades met each other for the first time, ringing through the room with a loud clash. As the duel progressed, Kamilah noticed that Anck-su-namun was indeed a very skilled fighter. However, there was room to improve. Kamilah was much the same, but she had no doubt been training longer and harder than Anck-su-namun. As the two women viciously attacked each other, Kamilah began looking for an opportunity. It soon presented itself. Kamilah tucked in her arms, ducked down, tucked in her knees, and rolled between Anck-su-namun's very wide-spread legs. Anck-su-namun had no time to react as Kamilah stood behind her and kicked her legs out from underneath her. As Anck-su-namun fell, Kamilah moved towards her and pinned her flush against the floor by sitting on her and keeping her hands down with her feet. Kamilah pressed a sai into the woman's back, careful not to harm her, but enough to let her know that she had lost. Kamilah heard a huge applause and stood up. She helped Anck-su-namun to her feet. _

"_You were holding back, weren't you?" Anck-su-namun asked the Medjai Chieftain. Kamilah smiled a little at the intelligent woman. _

"_Not as much as you would think," she promised. "You're good, Anck-su-namun. Keep working and someday I might not be able to beat so easily." The woman smiled slightly at the praise, but there was determination in her eyes. Kamilah knew the woman was promising herself she'd beat the Medjai Chieftain at some point within their lives. _

"_Now," King Seti started once the applause had ceased. Everyone fell silent and faced him. "As a birthday gift to my daughter: Princess Nefertiri, I will announce the woman who is to be her fighting instructor." Everyone seemed surprised at that, especially Nefertiri, but she was beaming at the prospect of learning how to fight. "After watching the duel, I have reached my decision. Kamilah shall become Princess Nefertiri's instructor." The hall burst into applause, but King Seti held up his hands to quiet them. "Kamilah has done such a brilliant job as Chieftain of my security. There is no one I would trust more to instruct my daughter. I believe her worthy. Well done, Kamilah." Everyone began applauding again. Anck-su-namun gave Kamilah a polite nod of her head. The Medjai Chieftain noticed that both she and Nefertiri looked glad at the outcome. It seemed Anck-su-namun disliked Nefertiri as much as the princess despised her. Out of the corner of her eye, Kamilah saw a familiar face. Asim was applauding her as well, giving her a soft smile that he seemed to reserve only for her. Kamilah flushed with pride and smiled at him before leaving the banquet hall to change back into her evening wear._

~)8(~

Ruth woke with a start. She bolted up, clutching at her chest. She was breathing heavily, practically wheezing. Her body was caked in sweat, making her clothes sticky and her hair matted. Henderson was looking at Ruth with confusion and worry alongside Daniels, who had returned to the room. God, how long had Ruth been asleep? Ruth's head began to pound and she moved to clutch it. The two men came to kneel before Ruth, seriously starting to worry, but Ruth had to get out. Ruth pushed past the men and bolted from the room. Ruth felt like her head was being compressed. She'd never had migraines before, but she would rather that than this. Ruth eventually made it to the bathroom and quickly shut the door behind her. Ruth clutched the sides of the sink as she leaned over it, her breathing shallow and quick. After a few seconds, Ruth clumsily turned on the tap and splashed very cold water on her face. Where had the hell that dream come from? Why… why did Kamilah look exactly like Ruth? Why… why did Nefertiri look exactly like Evie? Why… why did Jabari, Kamilah's older brother, look exactly like Rick? Why… Why did Asim look exactly like Ardeth? Questions flooded Ruth's head for minutes before she forced them to stop. Ruth closed her eyes and took deep, shuddering breaths until she had finally calmed down. Her head no longer pounded. She had stopped sweating. Her heartbeat had returned to a normal rate. It was nothing. It was just a weird dream. Then, Ruth looked up and into the mirror for the first time. Flowing black hair, deep amber eyes lined with kohl, gold makeup, gold jewelry. A butterfly hair comb, a flowing black gown. It was the good friend of Princess Nefertiri, expert fighter, friend of Asim, Chieftain of the Medjai. Ruth was not staring at herself. She was staring at Kamilah.

* * *

Hey all! Here's another revised and edited chapter! This will not be the last chapter for the night, I can promise that two more are on the way :) Hope you all like them!

**Reviews**

Guest (Adela): I'm so glad you like the story :) Here's more for you, and two more chapters are on the way tonight ;)

Cheerio!


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on April 18, 2016**

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**Chapter 9: Losing Hope**

_Cairo_

Ruth tore her eyes away from the mirror when there was a knock on the bathroom door. And judging by the voice calling her name, it was Ardeth. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be at the museum with Dr. Bey doing research. When Ruth looked back at the mirror, Kamilah was gone and she was staring at herself. Not Kamilah, herself. Ruth breathed a sigh of relief and went to open the door. However, she wasn't met with Ardeth. She was met with Asim. Then, Ruth blinked and he was gone. Ardeth was standing before her.

"Are you okay?" Ardeth asked upon seeing Ruth's mussed and tired state. Ruth looked down, not willing to tell him, but not willing to lie to him either.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, electing to ignore his question.

"I came to make sure everything was okay. I walked in to see Henderson and Daniels discussing you with worried expressions. They said you had a nightmare," Ardeth said, turning the conversation back on her.

"It wasn't a nightmare. It was just… a really intense dream," Ruth told him, hoping that Ardeth would let it drop. Ruth didn't want to tell him. Well, no, that wasn't right. Ruth _did_ want to tell him. Just… not right now. But of course, Ardeth didn't let the matter go.

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Ruth looked away from Ardeth. If he continued looking at her with those deep eyes of his, she would give in. Ruth's thoughts wandered to Kamilah and Asim. God, Kamilah had _loved_ Asim. Ruth wasn't anywhere near feeling that for Ardeth. She couldn't deny that she felt a little something for him, but love? Nope. But if Ruth wasn't careful, it wouldn't be much longer. She was falling for Ardeth Bay. She knew it now. It wasn't just an attraction. It was more… as ridiculous as that was. Four nights ago she and this man had been trying to kill each other. Three nights ago, they had learned each other's names. Now… Ruth was falling for him.

"_Farashatan_, please. What is wrong?" This time, Ruth noticed Ardeth's little endearment for her. Ardeth gently held Ruth's hands in his own and warmth spread through Ruth's entire body, not just her face. She couldn't believe how incredibly… _safe_ she felt when Ardeth was with her.

"I'm okay," Ruth whispered. "I promise. I'll tell you later. We have bigger problems right now." Ardeth looked a little sad at that, but nodded, knowing Ruth was right. Still, he did not let go of her hands.

"Where are O'Connell, Miss Carnahan, and her brother?" he asked quietly.

"Evie is currently locked in her bedroom under Rick's orders. He and Jonathan went to go find the Egyptologist. He was there when the chest was opened," Ruth explained. Ardeth nodded. As much as she didn't want to break the moment, time was precious right now. She and Ardeth couldn't stand there gazing into each other's eyes as Imhotep ran amuck right outside. So, Ruth let go of Ardeth's hands and took a step back from him, even though it pained her to do so.

"I should probably get back," she said. Ruth made to go back to Henderson and Daniels, but Ardeth grabbed her hand again.

"No," he said making her stop. Ruth turned back to him, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "Come back to the museum. I can… we can protect you better there." Ruth eyed the warrior, but he could tell she hadn't caught his little slip.

Ruth was thinking there was logic in what Ardeth said. It was smart to keep them all separated. That way, if Imhotep found one of them, he wouldn't have everyone there for the taking. Plus, as tolerable as they could be, Ruth wasn't sure Henderson and Daniels would have their backs if Imhotep arrived. Sure, they would have each other's… but if it came down to it, Ruth wasn't sure the Americans would have Ruth and Evie's backs.

"Fine," Ruth said, agreeing fairly easily. "Let me go give the key to Evie's room to Henderson." Ardeth nodded and she turned to leave. As she walked away, their hands slowly slipping away from each other's. Ruth made sure her face wasn't red before entering the room. Henderson and Daniels were sitting at the table, but stood up when they saw Ruth.

"Here," Ruth said as she tossed the key to Henderson.

"What's this?" he asked.

"The key to Evie's room," Ruth said as she gathered up her things. "I'm going back to the museum with Ardeth."

"You are?" Henderson asked with a raised eyebrow. Both he and Daniels looked amused.

"Yeah. Dr. Bey thinks he found some information on Amunet." The lie came so easily it surprised even Ruth. However, the two men seemed to buy it. Ruth strapped on her weapons and turned to leave when Daniels stopped her.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Ruth saw the worry in his eyes. Henderson's as well. The only time Ruth had seen that look in their eyes was when they'd seen what Imhotep had done to Burns back in Hamunaptra.

"Yeah, it was just a really weird dream," Ruth said. Both men nodded in understanding. "Be careful."

"You, too." With that, Ruth turned and rejoined Ardeth in the hall. He and Ruth walked back to the museum in silence. When they got there, Ruth immediately started towards the library. When she got there, she didn't see Dr. Bey. Ruth bit her lip and looked around the mess.

"Even back then, no one went through life without leaving some sort trace. No matter how short of time they lived for. No matter how hard someone worked to erase them from history. There's got to be something here about Imhotep, Anck-su-namun, and Amunet. And even if there isn't, there's got to be something about the Hom-Dai we can look at," Ruth said to Ardeth. "Let's split up. Time to go spelunking." Ardeth nodded and the two went to opposite sides of the library. After about thirty minutes, the two had created a small pile of books in the center of the room. Ardeth began going through them while Ruth continued searching. Ruth was digging through a particularly large pile when she found a book she didn't recognize. It was very large and seemed to be written in Ancient Egyptian. There was no title, and the book was held together by a few pieces of string. Out of curiosity, Ruth opened it. As she read, Ruth was able to figure out that the book was the history of the Medjai, starting even before Imhotep was cursed. Ruth sat down right where she was standing as she got engrossed in the book. Pretty, soon, she arrived at the point in history a little over a decade before Imhotep was cursed and buried in Hamunaptra. Ruth clutched the book closer to her. It was speaking of a beloved Medjai Chieftain who had been caught by surprise, dying by the hand of a simple bandit, on the very night of Princess Nefertiri's birthday. Ruth froze. This was beginning to sound eerily familiar.

_The Medjai Chieftain Talon had two children. His eldest, a son named Jabari, had abandoned his role as a Medjai some years before Talon's death. His younger child was only eleven years old at the time of his death. Talon had yet to choose a successor when he died. So, when he was killed, the Medjai were left without a Chieftain for seven years until Talon's younger child came of age. When she turned 18, Kamilah became the first female Medjai and the first female Chieftain at the same time. And to this day, she is still one of the greatest Chieftains the Medjai have ever seen._

Ruth gasped and dropped the book, nearly throwing it away from herself. Kamilah… Kamilah had been a real person. So had Jabari… And their father, Talon. And that meant… that meant Asim was most likely a real person, too. But that had been a dream! That's all! A _dream_! Right…?

Ardeth looked up from the book he was currently flipping through when he heard Ruth gasp and something fall to the ground. Ardeth immediately sprang up and rushed to the woman when he saw a slightly panicked look on her face. He knew that look. He had seen it but an hour earlier when she came out of the bathroom.

"Ruth! Ruth, are you all right?" Ruth quickly looked over to him and he gently touched her shoulder.

"Um…" she said, barely able to get anything else out besides that. Ardeth looked down and spotted the book she had dropped. Ardeth gently picked it up and looked at it in shock. Why had she been looking at this?

"It didn't have a title," Ruth hurriedly explained. "So, I looked in it." Ardeth looked down at the page the book was open to. His Ancient Egyptian was rusty at best, but he was able to discern what had most likely startled her.

"Ruth…" Ardeth quietly said, trying to calm her down.

"She can't be real," Ruth was muttering over and over again. She looked up at Ardeth. "How can she be real?"

"Kamilah? Of course she's real. Ruth, what are you talking about?"

"No!" Ardeth jumped a little at Ruth's outburst. "She _can't_ be real! How can you dream about someone you didn't know existed?" Both Ruth and Ardeth froze at her words. Ruth tensed and closed her eyes. She hadn't meant for that to slip out. Ardeth looked at the woman, confused.

"Ruth, what are you-"

"Ruth!" Ardeth was abruptly cut off when her brother's voice rang out from right outside the library. Ruth quickly cleared her throat and rushed outside to meet him, Ardeth following behind her. O'Connell, Evie, Jonathan, and Daniels were coming towards them. Ruth's eyes widened and she seemed to be looking for something behind them.

"Where's Henderson?" she asked. Daniels immediately looked to the floor and the other three exchanged sad looks. Ruth's eyes widened. He was gone. Imhotep had gotten him.

"He got Dr. Chamberlain as well," Evie said quietly. Ruth's eyes widened even more. That was three out of four gone. Imhotep was getting dangerously close to being fully regenerated. From now on, they had to do everything in their power to save Daniels.

"What do we do?" Daniels asked.

"Actually, I have an idea about that," Evie spoke up. Everyone looked at her, giving her their undivided attention. "Reading from the Book of the Dead resurrected Imhotep. So what will happen if we read from the Book of Amun-Ra?" Ruth's eyes widened in realization. How had she not thought of that before?

"Evie, you're a genius!" Ruth breathed, making her best friend blush at the praise. The group quickly found Dr. Bey and began walking upstairs towards a certain artifact in the museum.

"Well, according to legend, the Black Book that the Americans found at Hamunaptra is supposed to bring people back from the dead," Evie started. "Until now, it was a notion I was unwilling to believe."

"Believe it, sister," O'Connell remarked dryly. "That's what brought our buddy back to life."

"Yes, but if the Black Book brings people back, the Golden Book must be able to send them back," Ruth said.

"That's the myth," Evie agreed. "Now we just have to find where the Golden Book is hidden." Their group reached the top of the stairs and paused. They all turned, having heard the exact same thing at the exact same time. It was chanting. Everyone exchanged looks before going to the window. Hundreds upon hundreds of chanting people carrying torches were marching towards the museum.

"Imhotep. Imhotep. Imhotep." Ruth closed her eyes as they chanted their leader's name. It was only when they got closer did she realize that several of the people were carrying weapons.

"Last but not least, my favorite plague," Jonathan said. "Boils and sores." So far, they'd only seen six plagues: locusts, water to blood, fiery and hail, darkness, flies (O'Connell and Jonathan had experienced this one when they went to track down Dr. Chamberlain), and now boils and sores. Ruth shuddered in horror as she thought of the other four: frogs, lice, deceased livestock, and death of a firstborn. Imhotep was just getting warmed up with these plagues.

"They have become his slaves," Ardeth said. "So it begins. The beginning of the end."

"Not quite yet it hasn't," Evie said, determination coloring her tone. She turned and walked towards the large stone in the hallway. There was Ancient Egyptian writing all over it. Ardeth merely looked towards the group before looking back outside, his deep eyes seeming eerily empty. Ruth very quickly decided that she didn't like seeing that look in his eyes.

"We have to find faith, Ardeth," she said to him. He looked down at Ruth. His eyes weren't quite as empty as she had originally thought. There was despair in them, like he truly believed this was the end. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That wasn't right at all.

"We have to believe we can get through this," Ruth continued. "We just need to find the Book of Amun-Ra and read from it. That's it. Don't give up now." Ardeth slowly took Ruth's hand and she squeezed it comfortingly.

"How do I find faith?" Ardeth asked quietly.

"It's like when Moses was trying to free the Hebrews," Ruth said referring to the Christian and Jewish story. She knew Ardeth wasn't exactly Christian or Jewish, but she could still use the story for comparison reasons. "They were going up against all odds, expectations, even Pharaoh himself. All they had was their faith in God. And they prevailed. We can beat him, we just have to believe we can. Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible."

"How do you do it?" he asked quietly. Ruth's eyes grew a little sad.

"Because if I don't, I'll break." Ruth watched as a thousand emotions filled Ardeth's eyes at once.

Ardeth gazed down at this woman before him, many thoughts running through him. This little, clever, strong woman still believed they could do it. She still believed. But she was close… she was so close to breaking it was scary. That wasn't right. Not at all. Ruth was strong. She couldn't be breaking down. Not his _farashat alssahra'_. Nope, not at all. Ardeth had to do something about that, and quickly, too.

Ruth had never felt as safe as she did when Ardeth leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. Ardeth's arms were strong and warm, creating a bubble of comfort and safety around Ruth. She leaned into his chest and breathed in his scent. It was musky, much like Rick's. Only while Rick smelt more of leather and gunpowder, Ardeth smelt more like sand and true musk. It was different, but just as comforting. Dare she say so, even more so than Rick's.

As the two practically melted into each other's arms, neither of them noticed as Rick tore his gaze away from them, his lips pursed.

"According to Bembridge Scholars, the Golden Book of Amun-Ra is located inside the statue of Anubis," Evie started while looking at the stone artifact. Ruth and Ardeth looked at her, now paying attention. However, Ardeth did not remove his arms from around Ruth.

"That's where we found the Black Book," Daniels said in response to Evie.

"Exactly," she replied.

"Well, it looks like the old boys at Bembridge were mistaken," Jonathan said.

"Yes, they mixed the books up, mixed up where they were buried. So, if the Black Book is inside the statue of Anubis then the Golden Book must be inside…" Evie trailed off as she began to read. Suddenly, the door downstairs broke open, causing Ruth the jump. Ardeth lightly squeezed her in reassurance, but she still looked down to see Imhotep's slaves pouring into the museum. Ruth's heart rate jumped about 20 notches and she tensed considerably. Ardeth lightly squeezed her again and she leaned back into him, needing the comfort.

"Come on, Evie, faster," Jonathan urged.

"Patience is a virtue," Evie said in a sing-song voice as she continued to read.

"Not right now it isn't," O'Connell shot back as he looked down at the incoming slaves.

"Uh, I think I'll go get the car started," Jonathan muttered. He ran off, none of them thinking or trying to stop him.

"I've got it!" Evie exclaimed. "The Golden Book of Amun-Ra is at Hamunaptra inside the statue of Horus. Take that Bembridge Scholars!" Evie had a triumphant smile on her face and she fist-pumped the air.

"Yeah, well, you can rub it in their faces later," Ruth said as she stepped away from Ardeth and towards Evie. "Right now, we've got to run." The entire group ran outside to find Jonathan pulling up with the car. Ruth didn't know how he made it past the slaves, but she didn't particularly care at the time. Everyone piled into the car as Beni came outside of the museum and spotted them. Ruth cursed under her breath as he began calling for Imhotep. Evie and O'Connell climbed up front with Jonathan while Daniels, Dr. Bey, Ardeth and Ruth piled into the back. Ruth was half on Ardeth's lap because there was very limited space. She might have felt giddy if they weren't being hunted down by Imhotep and his hypnotized goons.

"You're going to get yours, Beni!" O'Connell yelled to the Hungarian as they drove passed off. "You hear me? You're going to get yours!"

"Oh, like I've never heard that before!" Beni yelled back. Ruth rolled her eyes. In the blink of an eye, she had drawn her gun and shot at Beni. Everyone stared at the woman in shock as she scowled a bit.

"I missed," she muttered. Ruth then holstered her gun and looked at the others.

"Feel better?" O'Connell asked, amused at his sister's actions. She nodded.

"Little bit," she admitted. Then, they all fell silent as Jonathan began to drive through the city. They flew through the streets of Cairo (nearly being thrown every which way thanks to Jonathan's insane driving). The slaves were still chasing them. Suddenly, Ruth found herself flying forward as Jonathan harshly braked. Ardeth quickly wrapped his arm around Ruth's waist in order to keep her from flying out of the car. Again, Ruth would've been feeling giddy if there weren't dozens of hypnotized slaves standing not ten feet in front of them. They just stared, and the group of seven stared right back. No one moved. That was until O'Connell slammed his foot down on the gas. Jonathan cried out as the car flew forward. The slaves started running as the car drove towards them.

"Hang on!" O'Connell yelled. Seconds later, the car collided with the people. Several of the slaves managed to grab on to the car as they drove forward. Ruth stood up along with everyone but Evie and Jonathan and began pushing and shoving the slaves off of the car. Ruth punched one in the face, sending him flying and breaking his nose in the process. Ruth managed to shove another one off, but right as she did that, another latched onto Ruth and began pulling.

"Ardeth!" Ruth practically screamed. Ruth had no time to dwell on how she'd called for Ardeth and not her brother when she found herself on the outside of the car. Ruth latched onto the side of the car and began thrashing around, trying to throw the slave who was still pulling on her. Suddenly, the slave was lifted into the air and thrown to the ground, knocking down several other slaves on his way. Ruth looked up in shock to see Ardeth, his deep eyes filled with more anger than she'd ever seen before.

"Ruth!" Ardeth's eyes calmed down within seconds of the ordeal and he grabbed Ruth's biceps. Ruth managed to grab onto his shoulders and helped him lift her back into the car. When she was finally standing, Ardeth wrapped his arms around her waist and steadied her against him. "Are you okay?" Ruth nodded, still struggling to catch her breath. Suddenly, Ardeth reached up and gently touched her cheek, the same cheek he'd cut. Ruth's heart nearly melted as Ardeth's thumb softly stroked the scabbed cut. Neither of them wanted the moment to end, but they were practically in the middle of a battle. Simultaneously, the two let go of each other and resumed fighting the slaves. Ruth almost laughed when she saw Evie poke one of them in the eye. Ruth then turned and punched a slave in the face. She was in the process of shoving another one when she heard a scream. Ruth abruptly turned and saw two slaves dragging Daniels out of the car.

"O'Connell! Two!" Ruth leaped forward and reached for him. She missed by less than an inch. Daniels was pulled out of the car. Ruth heard him start shooting, but knew it wouldn't last. He would eventually run out of bullets. And when he did, Imhotep would get him. Soon, Jonathan practically lost control of the car and they crashed. Everyone leaped out of the car and started running, Ardeth grasping Ruth's hand in his own. However, the group was soon cornered and had to stop. Ruth drew one of her swords and brandished it as the slaves began to surround them. They began chanting. He was coming. The slaves parted like the Red Sea and Imhotep came striding forward, Beni walking behind him. Ruth's eyes widened in horror.

"It's the Creature," Dr. Bey breathed. "He's fully regenerated." Imhotep began speaking in Ancient Egyptian and Beni translated.

"Come with me, my Princess. It is time to make you mine… forever." Ruth rolled her eyes at Beni's sloppy translation.

"'For all eternity', idiot," Evie corrected with something akin to a sneer. Imhotep spoke again.

"Take my hand and I will spare your friends," Beni translated. Imhotep held out his hand for Evie and she whispered something to O'Connell. Ruth couldn't quite make it out, but she was sure it was something only her brother was meant to hear. Evie, having no choice, stepped forward and took Imhotep's hand.

"No!" O'Connell said. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at Imhotep.

"Don't!" Evie warned as Imhotep pulled her into his side. "He still has to take me to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual." Ardeth stepped forward and grasped O'Connell's arm, stopping him from shooting Imhotep.

"She's right," he said. "Live today, fight tomorrow." O'Connell gave in and begrudgingly lowered his gun.

"I'll be seeing you again," he told Imhotep darkly. The Creature merely smirked and turned towards Ruth. The woman's blood ran cold.

_"Now, my daughter. It is time for you to live, to grow up, to have the life you deserve. Come with me."_ As Beni translated, Imhotep held out his other hand for Ruth to take. The woman knew she had no choice and began to walk towards him.

"No!" It wasn't just O'Connell who had said it this time, but Ardeth as well. Ardeth jumped forward and tried to pull Ruth behind him as O'Connell drew his gun again. Ruth pulled away from Ardeth.

"Ardeth, stop!" she exclaimed. "Without me, the deal is void. He will kill you if I don't go with him." Ardeth stopped, but didn't release Ruth. In fact, his grip on her waist tightened.

_"We're going to Hamunaptra. You just have to get there in time, kill him, and save us."_ Ruth had switched to Arabic. _"You can do it. I know you can. I'll be okay, I promise."_

_"I can't just let you go,"_ Ardeth protested.

_"You have to!"_ Ruth very nearly cried. _"I'll be okay. I promise to stay alive until you can come and 'save the day'."_ Ruth had added humor towards the end, but Ardeth was not amused.

_"This is not a joking matter, Ruth,"_ he said seriously. Ruth dared to reach up and touch Ardeth's face. He seemed to lean into her hand.

_"Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible,"_ Ruth recited, repeating what she'd told him earlier. She trusted Ardeth (and her brother) to save her. He just had to trust himself.

Ardeth tightened his hold on Ruth's waist, loathing what he was about to do. But, he did it. His grip loosened and Ruth slid away from him, towards the evil Creature before him. Imhotep's smirk widened as he pulled Ruth into his side, just like he had done with Evie. Ruth never broke eye contact with Ardeth. They didn't look away from each other until they physically couldn't keep eye contact. As Imhotep ordered his slaves to kill their friends, he tightened his grip on the two women, making sure they could not get away. As Evie and Ruth struggled, both of them hoped and prayed to every higher power they could think of that they would get out of this. They prayed that O'Connell would come. They prayed that Ardeth would come. They prayed that no one else would die, and if anyone did, it would be Imhotep.

* * *

Hey all! Here's the third chapter for tonight! I hope you all like it :) Also, this will not be the last chapter I upload tonight, so there's more to come :)

Cheerio!


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on April 18, 2016**

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**Chapter 10: Trying Lives**

_Hamunaptra_

Ruth's nerves were reaching their limit. Imhotep had broken their deal and ordered his slaves to kill their friends. Ruth had no idea of they'd survived or not. She could only hope. Not only that, but she was currently swirling around inside a sandstorm Imhotep had created to get them back to Hamunaptra. Suddenly, Ruth felt herself flying through the air. She cried out. Then, she landed on the sand, Evie and Beni not far behind her. The sand twister disappeared and Imhotep was formed out of it. He began walking and Ruth looked to see where they were.

"Oh, my God," Evie breathed. "We're back." Indeed they were. Hamunaptra sat not even half a mile in front of them. Ruth ignored the pit settling in her stomach as she picked herself off the desert floor. Suddenly, Ruth's gaze darted towards the sky. She thought she had heard engines. Plane engines. Sure enough, there was a small plane flying through the sky.

"O'Connell," Evie breathed. Ruth smiled, realizing she was right. It was Rick. And Jonathan. And Winston Havelock from the looks of the plane. And Ardeth. Ruth's smile widened as she watched them fly through the sky. Ruth frowned in confusion as she heard a rumble. She turned in time to see Imhotep raising a wall of sand. He shot it towards the plane. Within seconds, Ruth heard gunfire. That was probably her brother going nuts with the machine gun. However, it was a wall of sand. Bullets wouldn't do anything to it. Imhotep roared and the wall of sand consumed the plane. Ruth's eyes widened in horror.

"Stop it! You'll kill them!" Evie cried. Ruth longed to say the same time, but she was frozen. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that Imhotep would not stop. He wanted their friends dead.

"That's the idea," Beni replied to Evie. She and Ruth exchanged worried and panicked looks. There had to be some way to get Imhotep to stop. Ruth shoved Beni out of the way as she and Evie approached Imhotep. The Creature's eyes were closed in concentration and his arms were waving with power. Ruth was drawing a blank on what to do. Evie wasn't. The brunette hesitantly reached forward and pulled Imhotep's lips to hers. Ruth's eyes widened. Imhotep's did as well. Evie kept her eyes open and watched as Imhotep lost concentration. The plane reappeared and the wall of sand collapsed. Evie broke the kiss and beamed. Ruth couldn't help a smile of her own, but again, it soon fell. She heard sputtering and saw smoke. Within seconds, the little plane crashed a little ways away from them, but too far for Evie or Ruth to go running to them. Ruth's heart fell all the way past her stomach to her feet. What if… No! She would not think like that! She had told Ardeth to have faith. Might as well take her own advice. Evie and Ruth were forced forward and in no time, they were inside Hamunaptra. Imhotep led them to a part of the city they had never seen before.

"Keep moving!" Beni snarled at them at one point.

"You know, nasty little fellows such as yourself always get their comeuppance," Evie told him. Beni laughed, but soon stopped.

"They do?"

"Oh, yes," Evie and Ruth answered at the same time. "Always." Evie narrowed her eyes at the weasel and Ruth threw him her signature glare. Then, they simultaneously turned and began walking again.

"Wait," Beni called. The two women stopped and looked back at him. Beni came forward and leaned down before Ruth. The woman cursed as he found the two remaining knives in her boots. Before they'd left Cairo, she'd been completely disarmed, from her three guns to her four knives to the fine dagger in her currently loose hair. He'd missed the daggers in her boots. She had hoped that he wouldn't remember them. No such luck. Now, both Evie and Ruth were completely weaponless with an immortal mummy trying to sacrifice them for his love and their daughter.

Imhotep continued to lead Evie and Ruth deeper into the city. When they finally walked down into a very large chamber, Imhotep began to prepare for the ritual. The only thing keeping Evie and Ruth from running was the gun Beni was currently pointing at them. However, a few seconds later, all four of them looked up at the sound of distant gunfire.

"O'Connell," Evie breathed.

"And Ardeth… and Jonathan." Ruth hastily added Evie's brother to keep her from suspecting her feelings for the Medjai Chieftain. However, Ruth knew her best friend probably already suspected something, just as Ruth suspected there were feelings between Evie and Rick. Ruth turned when she heard Imhotep say something. She didn't quite catch it. There was a moan and the wall they were facing began to crack. Pieces chipped and fell away as two mummified men broke their way out of the wall. Ruth's eyes widened as she realized these must've been some of Imhotep's priests who had been mummified alive.

"The Bembridge Scholars never wrote about this," Evie muttered as she, Beni, and Ruth backed away from the mummies. The two mummies approached Imhotep and bowed their heads at him. Imhotep returned the gesture before speaking.

_"Kill them."_ Ruth's eyes widened at the order and the two mummies walked away. _"And wake the others."_

~)8(~

_Ruth opened her eyes and found herself lying on the ground. She sat up and looked down at herself. Judging from her attire, this was not another dream where she was Kamilah. However, she didn't know where she was. She was completely surrounded by darkness. She could feel the ground beneath her, but couldn't see anything. _

"_Hello?" Ruth called out. There was no answer. "Is anyone there? Where am I? Hello?" Still no answer. Ruth gave a small huff of frustration and crossed her arms. However, a few seconds later, she saw a light. Okay, was she dead? The light expanded and grew brighter. There was a figure coming out of it. The figure grew closer until they were standing right in front of Ruth. The translator's eyes widened as she stared at a beautiful woman with flowing black hair, olive skin, and kohl-lined amber eyes. Ruth was staring at Kamilah. _

"_Ruth O'Connell," she said. Kamilah cocked her head a little and stared at Ruth, as if she were a little bug on her wall. "You are not exactly what I expected." Ruth merely stared at her, not knowing how to take that. _

"_Where am I?" Ruth asked. _

"_You are everywhere and nowhere. It is complicated," Kamilah said. _

"_Yes, well, try your best to explain it to me," Ruth said. Her voice was even and void of most emotion. She was really not in the mood for this Kamilah-crap, whatever it was. She was about to be sacrificed to bring back Amunet. Her best friend was about to be sacrificed for a concubine. Her brother, her friend, and the man she was falling for were being hunted down by Imhotep's undead priests. It was safe to say Ruth was really not in the mood._

"_It is like a dream world," Kamilah explained. Ruth nodded in understanding. _

"_And why am I here?" she asked. _

"_We must talk."_

"_Yes, I have some questions." Kamilah looked amused, but not surprised. _

"_You may ask three," she said. Ruth raised an eyebrow at her. _

"_Three?"_

"_Three. That is all we have time for. You will wake soon," Kamilah told her. "Choose wisely." _

"_Yeah, no pressure there," Ruth muttered sarcastically. Kamilah laughed lightly. _

"_I admit, I do not envy you. In fact, I feel a little sorry for you." Ruth raised her eyebrows. _

"_Why?"_

"_You were not meant to find out this way," Kamilah said. "You were not meant to remember… at least, not yet. And certainly not at a time like this." Ruth was extremely confused by what Kamilah said. Ruth had no idea what was going on, but Kamilah was assuming she did. It was irritating _

"_And what exactly was I supposed to remember?" Ruth asked. _

"_My life," Kamilah said simply. Ruth furrowed her eyebrows a bit at the vague, yet blunt answer. _

"_And why am I supposed to remember your life?" Ruth asked. "Why is this happening to me? What is going on?" Kamilah looked uncomfortable. _

"_That I cannot tell you. You must discover the answer to those questions for yourself. Now come." Ruth didn't argue and got up to follow her. The light hovered above the two women as they walked. Ruth didn't know where they were going, but soon, the darkness disappeared and a scene unfolded in front of them._

"_What is this?" Ruth asked. _

"_The night my father died," Kamilah said. Ruth's eyes widened and she looked at the Egyptian woman. _

"_Why are you showing me this?" _

"_It was the worst night of my life," she replied. "And I want you to understand me, Ruth." Kamilah didn't elaborate any further and the two women turned to watch the event. There was a battle occurring all around them. It was the Medjai… but Ruth wasn't sure who they were fighting. It looked like a group of bandits. In front of the women was Kamilah's father, Talon. Ruth watched in amazement as he fought. She had never seen someone fight with such skill or finesse. He was downing every enemy whose blade met his own. Talon was such an amazing warrior, it was hard to believe he was snuck up on and stabbed in the back, but he was. Ruth watched in sadness as he fell. The rest of the battle seemed to fade out after that and soon, it was over. Ruth caught a look at Kamilah. There were tears in her eyes. Ruth reached out and gently grabbed her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. Ruth may not have known why Kamilah was suddenly all up in her mind, but no one deserved to watch as their parent died. _

_Kamilah gave Ruth a small, sad smile and squeezed her hand back. She knew what was coming, and it was the worst part. Kamilah gestured her head towards the scene before her, telling Ruth to continue watching. The two women turned back in time to see a small, screaming and crying, much younger Kamilah running towards her fallen father._

"_Kamilah," Talon wheezed. _

"_Papa," Kamilah choked out. _

"_It is your responsibility now," he whispered. Young Kamilah's eyes widened. _

"_But the successor-"_

"_Has not been chosen," Talon cut her off. "But I have now. It is you, my daughter. You will lead the Medjai when you come of age." Young Kamilah had tears pouring down her face, but none of the other warriors stepped up to comfort her. _

"_What if I fail?" she whispered. Talon reached up and stroked her face. _

"_Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible." Ruth gasped aloud at the familiar words. _

"_I love you, Papa," Young Kamilah cried softly._

"_I love you, Kamilah. Promise me one thing."_

"_Anything."_

"_Never get married." Young Kamilah looked confused at her father's request, but nodded. _

"_Never shall I marry if it be your wish, Papa," she whispered. _

"_My little warrior. My desert butterfly. My little Kamilah." Those were his last words. Young Kamilah tried in vain to keep from crying, but tears poured down her cheeks and she sobbed loudly. None of the men came to comfort her, but a teenage boy did. He looked several years older than Kamilah, maybe 18. He pulled her away from her father's body and hugged her tightly. Kamilah practically clung to him._

"_Who is that?" Ruth whispered. _

"_Asim," Kamilah answered in a soft voice with a soft tone. Ruth looked at her and could see the love shining in her eyes. _

"_You really loved him, didn't you?" Ruth asked knowingly. Kamilah smiled. _

"_Just as you love Ardeth Bay." Ruth's eyes widened. _

"_I am not in love with Ardeth," she quickly denied. Kamilah looked amused. _

"_But you do have feelings for him." Ruth couldn't deny that and looked back at the scene around her. _

"_We must go to Pharaoh," one warrior said coming towards the children. Two other Medjai came forward and picked up their Chieftain's body. They took him and quietly laid him in a cart to be taken to the palace. _

"_But the Princess' birthday…" one Medjai tried. _

"_This is a matter of utmost importance," the first warrior insisted. "Her highness will understand." No one else spoke up and it was decided. The Medjai took their things and marched towards the city in silence. No words were spoken, not even between Kamilah and Asim. The group faded into the distance and the world around Ruth and Kamilah changed. They were now standing inside what looked like a bedroom. Ruth's eyes widened as she recognized it. _

"_This was the most trying time in your life, Ruth," Kamilah said. Ruth spun around, trying to make sure what she was seeing was real. She was inside her bedroom at the orphanage. She was 8 years old, Rick was 16, nearly 17 when this happened. Ruth had fallen fatally ill. _

"_You're going to be okay, Ruthie," O'Connell assured Ruth's eight-year-old self. _

"_You really think so, Ricky?" Young Ruth asked. Ruth's eyes welled with tears. She hadn't called her brother that in years. _

"_Positive," Rick assured her. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. A few seconds later, the orphanage owner, Gertrude, and a doctor came into the room. Rick stood up and went to talk to the doctor while Gertrude took his place by Young Ruth. Ruth looked at her younger self. She was pale, with sunken eyes and protruding bones. She had been so sick. She had been so healthy previously, with weight and muscle on her. After that, Ruth had remained fairly small, despite being in good physical shape. Ruth's body had just never truly recovered. After she'd gotten sick, she'd always been this small. _

"_How is she?" Rick asked the doctor. The older man stared at him sadly._

"_There is no real easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. There is a very slim chance your sister will survive this." Rick's eyes filled with frustrated, angry, and heartbroken tears. _

"_How long?" he asked quietly. _

"_She has a week. Maybe two." The doctor did not sugarcoat it at all and Rick almost broke down right then and there. Ruth could see the sadness, grief, and despair in his eyes. But anger was present also. First, their father had abandoned them. Then, their mother had gotten sick and died. Rick had been only ten, and Ruth only two. They had been living in the same orphanage for six years now. They only had each other. And now, Rick was going to lose his baby sister as well. _

"_How are you feeling, Ruth?" Gertrude asked Young Ruth._

"_Tired," Young Ruth replied with a yawn. _

"_Are you hungry? Thirsty? Is there anything I can get you?" Gertrude asked. _

"_Can I have Peter?" Young Ruth requested. Ruth smiled a bit. She still had that toy. He was currently sitting in her closet in her flat. That toy had been her favorite as a kid. Ruth's smile widened as Gertrude handed Young Ruth a much less battered looking doll. She had named him Peter, after Peter Pan. That had been her favorite childhood story. _

"_Anything else?" Gertrude asked. _

"_No," Young Ruth said. Ruth saw Gertrude's worried look and knew why she wore it. At this point, Ruth had barely eaten anything in the last week._

"_Why this day?" Kamilah suddenly asked. Ruth looked sad. _

"_The only reason I lived was a lucky pull-through. This was the day I realized I would most likely join my mother wherever she was. This was the day I realized I would most likely die." The two women watched sadly as Rick returned to his sister's bedside and began playing with her, making her giggle and smile, despite her illness. _

_Kamilah watched as a small smile overtook Ruth's face while she watched her brother and her younger self. Kamilah realized something._

"_You weren't afraid to die," she whispered. Ruth looked at her before shaking her head. "You were afraid of leaving Rick all on his own." Ruth gave a sad smile and nodded. With that, the scene around them faded. The world around the two women turned dark once again. The light still hovered above them, though. _

"_That was… sad." It was honestly the only word Ruth could come up with, weak as it was. However, Kamilah smiled. _

"_Yes, it was. This is where we part ways, Ruth." The translator's eyes widened._

"_But I still have so many questions," she protested. _

"_I know. But this will not be the last time we talk." Ruth felt reassured at that. She didn't know when it had happened, but somewhere along the way, Ruth decided to trust Kamilah. She had given her no reason not to, even though she wasn't saying anything about why she was in Ruth's head. _

"_Until the next time, Ruth O'Connell," Kamilah said. The Egyptian woman turned to leave when Ruth's eyes widened. _

"_Wait!" The woman turned back, her eyebrow raised in a way that reminded Ruth of herself. "Your father… he called you something right before he died."_

"_His little warrior?" Kamilah asked. _

"_No." Kamilah suddenly smirked. _

"_Ah. His desert butterfly." Ruth nodded, confused at why Kamilah found that amusing. It was a hell of a coincidence, really. Ruth had been called "desert butterfly" by that jewelry vendor back at the bazaar, many, many days ago. It was weird that the woman currently occupying her mind had been given the same pet name by her father. _

"_Goodbye, Ruth," Kamilah said, the little smirk still on her face. Ruth had no time to call to her again before the light above them faded. The world around Ruth became completely dark and silent and she felt her eyes closing, no matter how hard she tried to keep them open. Then, she was falling. _

~)8(~

Ruth woke up to find herself lying on her back. She furrowed her eyebrows, not quite sure where she was. Then, she remembered. She was in Hamunaptra about to be sacrificed. Ruth looked around her and tried to sit up, but cursed when she found that her wrists and ankles were shackled to the surface she was lying on. Ruth saw Imhotep out of the corner of her eye. He was preparing for the ritual.

_"I understand now,"_ Ruth spoke to him in Ancient Egyptian. He looked at Ruth, an eyebrow raised. _"I understand why you chose us."_

_"Do you?"_ he asked.

_"Evie looks like Nefertiri, Seti's daughter."_ Imhotep actually looked surprised at her words. _"I look like Kamilah, Chieftain of the Medjai."_

_"Nefertiri was a weak, spoiled child who never appreciated what she was given,"_ Imhotep said. Ruth scowled a bit. _"Kamilah never trusted me."_

_"That's not true. She didn't exactly trust you, but she didn't really know you. You didn't know each other all that well."_ Imhotep raised an eyebrow at Ruth.

_"How do you know that?"_ Ruth didn't answer, but Imhotep didn't need to her to. _"Ah, so I was correct. You are starting to remember."_

_"Remember what?"_ Ruth asked in confusion. Kamilah had said something similar to that. It was starting to confuse her. She wasn't remembering anything, merely seeing the events of Kamilah's life. Ruth was surprised when Imhotep let out a mocking laugh.

_"You do not know,"_ he said. He grinned a malicious smile that made Ruth's skin crawl. Imhotep stepped towards her and leaned down right in front of her face. _"That means she does not know either. Or that pesky Medjai warrior. Or your irksome brother. That will make things much easier."_ Ruth looked up at Imhotep in confusion, not liking that he knew something about herself, Rick, Evie, and Ardeth that she didn't. What was he talking about? What didn't they know? Ruth stored those thoughts away for later. That wasn't the pressing issue at the moment.

_"Don't you dare!"_ Ruth snarled as she realized Imhotep was planning something for her friends and brother. However, there was nothing Ruth could do and both she and Imhotep knew it. Imhotep chuckled mockingly at her before walking away.

_"He will come,"_ Ruth continued. _"He will come and he will kill you. You are not making it out of this one alive. I promise you that."_ Ruth wasn't sure if she was talking about Rick or Ardeth… probably both. However, Imhotep merely laughed at Ruth's attempt to threaten him.

_"I will very much enjoy killing you for my dear Amunet."_ That was all he said before he returned to his preparations. Something to her left caught Ruth's attention. She turned her head and nearly gasped. On the two platforms next to Ruth were and unconscious Evie and the corpse of Anck-su-namun. Then, Ruth looked to her right. She very nearly screamed. On the platform to her right was the mummified corpse of an infant. It was the body of Amunet.

* * *

Hey all! Here's Chapter 10 of my edited and revised version of this fanfic. I hope you all like it :) Unfortunately, this is the last update for the night :( But, there will be more over the course of the next few days. We're getting close to the end of this story. And then, we'll have the sequel within the next month and a half (I finish schooling at the end of May). I promise I'll get the sequel out to you guys as fast as I can. Thanks for all your continued support! I love you all! :)

Cheerio!


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on April 24, 2016**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Death Is Only the Beginning**

_Hamunaptra_

Ruth averted her eyes from the sight of Amunet's body. It was too scary and painful to look at. Dead bodies were never very fun to look at in general, but the body of an infant… It didn't matter whose child it was. A dead child was not something Ruth could handle.

Ruth heard a squeak and looked over to see that Evie had woken up. There was an extremely large rat on her stomach. Ruth wrinkled her nose slightly and Evie leaned over, tipping the rodent off of her stomach. However, she rolled over right next to the body of Anck-su-namun. Evie screamed.

"Evie!" Ruth cried. "Evie, calm down!" After a few more seconds, she did, but her breathing was extremely labored. The two women heard moaning and screeching as some of Imhotep's priests began to surround them. Ruth's eyes widened more than she thought possible. The ritual was starting. Imhotep came towards the two women, the Book of the Dead in his hands. He opened it and slipped the key into his robes.

"O'Connell!" Evie suddenly yelled. Ruth winced at the sudden outburst, but decided that at this point, calling for help was probably their last option. If their friends were nearby, they would definitely hear the two women.

"Ardeth!" Ruth yelled.

"Jonathan!"

"Rick! Ardeth!" Evie and Ruth struggled against their shackles, but they couldn't get out. They were so tight around Ruth's wrists that no amount of sweat or water or oil could get them to slip out. However, Ruth continued to tug and pull and twist her wrists to the point where they began to bleed.

Imhotep's priests began to bow and chant as Imhotep read from the Book of the Dead. There was a pool next to the four platforms. Evie and Ruth watched as something… a soul, it seemed, rose from the pool and descended over Anck-su-namun's body. The woman jumped awake with screeches and high pitched moans. Anck-su-namun turned and looked at Evie and Ruth with empty eye sockets. Neither of them could help it. They screamed. Both the women began to struggle even harder against their shackles. Imhotep strode over to Evie, a blade in his hand.

"_With your death, Anck-su-namun shall live. And I shall be invincible."_ He raised the blade and prepared to bring it down onto Evie.

"NO! EVIE!" Ruth cried as Evie let out an utterly _terrified_ scream. With one final wrench, Ruth was able to literally rip her hands out of the shackles and knock a shocked Imhotep to the ground. Ruth ignored the stinging in her raw and bloody wrists and she leaned protectively over her friend.

"I've found it, Evie! I've found it!" Both girls snapped their heads up towards the top of the chamber stairs. It was Jonathan! He was holding the Golden Book of Amun-Ra.

"_The Book of Amun-Ra,"_ Imhotep breathed. Ruth looked at him. She could tell by his wide eyes and his tense stance that he was unnerved by the fact that the book that could kill him had been found.

"Shut up and get us out of here, Jonathan!" Evie yelled.

"Open the book and read from it! That's the only way to kill him!" Ruth yelled at him as she tore off her boots. Removing her boots created enough room for her to wriggle her feet from their shackles. However, it cost her another mutilating. Now she was barefoot in Hamunaptra (her socks had been ripped off along with the shackles). Great.

"You have to open the book and find the inscription!" Evie added.

"I can't open it!" Jonathan exclaimed. "We need the key!"

"It's inside his robes!" Imhotep started making his way towards Jonathan, his glare menacing and determined. Ruth jumped off the sacrificial platform, careful to avoid Amunet's body. She jumped outside the circle of still bowing and chanting priests. Sword… Sword… Surely there was a sword around in this chamber.

"Hey!" Ruth looked up and saw her brother standing a few feet in front of her. He tossed her a sword and Ruth caught it. There was a fight coming. They both knew it. Ruth had no time to put her shoes and socks back on. They had to get out of there. The sooner, the better. O'Connell and Ruth jumped forward to cut through Evie's bonds when Imhotep's priests suddenly stood up and advanced on them. Ruth immediately began slashing at them.

She sliced one of the priests in half through the middle before cutting off his head. She whacked another one in the head with the flat of her blade, sending it flying. Then, she stabbed the body. Ruth dove underneath an oncoming priest and stabbed it from behind in a move very similar to the one she'd used on Ardeth and what Kamilah had used on Anck-su-namun. Ruth cut two more mummies in half before beheading another. Between her and her brother, the priests were finished off fairly quickly.

"Mummies," O'Connell muttered. Ruth nodded in agreement. Then, Ruth felt something grab her ankle. She shrieked in pain and surprise as she tumbled down to the ground at the same time as O'Connell. Ruth had managed to hold onto her sword, but was being pinned down by two mummies. O'Connell had lost his sword, but only had one mummy clinging to him. One of Ruth's mummies managed to wrestle her sword from her hands and made to bring it down on her. Ruth kicked the mummy holding her foot, making it recoil and let go of her, before she rolled out of the way of the incoming blade. Ruth jumped up and stared down the priest who had stolen her sword. She would rather like that back.

Despite being dead, the priest was quick. He stabbed and swiped at Ruth and she only barely managed to dodge him. Ruth ran around, the priest chasing her and swinging the sword at her. At one point, he went to stab her. Ruth sidestepped and grabbed the hilt of the sword before bringing it back around to drive it through the priest's chest. By this time, O'Connell had managed to fight off his own mummy. His sword was back in his hand. Then, the O'Connell siblings resumed fighting the priests. After they were finished off again, Ruth was able to cut through Evie's bonds. O'Connell helped her off of the platform and held her close to him. However, luck was not on their side. There was a sudden rumble. The three froze as a door in the chamber opened and ten Egyptian mummy warriors marched out.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Ruth muttered under her breath.

"Oh, yeah. This just keeps getting better and better," O'Connell remarked. He and Ruth raised their swords, preparing for another fight.

"Oh, do something, Jonathan," Evie told him.

"Me?"

"You have the Book of Amun-Ra in your hands," Ruth said. "Read the inscription on the cover and then you will be able to command them."

"You have got to be joking!" Jonathan protested.

"Just do it, Jonathan!" The man ran behind a nearby pillar to keep safe as he began reading the cover again. Suddenly, Evie screamed. Ruth whirled around to see that Anck-su-namun had climbed off of her platform and was now coming at Evie with the sacrificial blade. Evie ran away and Ruth wanted to go help her, but the mummy warriors began to attack. O'Connell screamed at them. The mummies then screamed back, their jaws unhinging and making their mouths open unnaturally wide. Ruth's eyes widened in fright. O'Connell took one last look at them before shaking his head.

"Uh-uh," he muttered. Ruth couldn't agree more. The siblings turned on their heels and ran through the chamber, the warriors chasing after them. O'Connell wrapped his arm around his sister's waist and cut a rope. Ruth held onto him tight as the two were lifted into the air. However, O'Connell didn't count on the landing being so rough. He practically dropped his sister (accidentally, of course). Ruth's head smacked against the stone floor and her world went black.

~)8(~

"_Ruth… Ruth… Ruth!" Ruth woke with a start and abruptly sat up. "Well, it's about damn time. Now, get up! You have a fight to win. Or are you just going to sit there and leave me to die?" Ruth's eyes widened as she stared up at her brother. He'd… _never_ spoken to her that way before. He would _never_ say something like that to her. And Ruth would _never_ leave him to die. What was he talking about? _

"_So that's it then?" he asked. While Ruth had been gaping at him, she hadn't made any move to get up. O'Connell glared down at her. Ruth's eyes widened at the intensity behind it. The anger, the hate, the hurt… "You're just going to leave me to die? After all I've done for you? I could've abandoned you! I could've left you! I could've given up on you when you were sick!" Ruth flinched. "You aren't my sister anymore. I don't know you." Ruth's eyes widened and filled with tears at his words. She opened her mouth to apologize when O'Connell's face changed. His face morphed into Evie's. _

"_Come on, Ruth! You can do it! You can get up. All you have to do is open your eyes," she said. She was being supportive and Ruth tried. She tried to pick herself off of the ground. She tried so hard, but she couldn't do it. Ruth watched in confusion and sadness as Evie's face fell in absolute disappointment. Then, her face morphed into Jonathan's. _

"_I never thought you'd be the type to give up Ruth," he said to her. "You're so strong. Don't stop now. Get up, Ruth!" Jonathan's face morphed into Seti I's._

"_Kamilah, you have failed me. You have failed your men, your duty as Chieftain, and your father. You are a disgrace on this entire kingdom, and you shall be exiled, never to return. Unless… you can get up. Get up, Kamilah! Get up!" he ordered. Seti's face turned into Nefertiri's. _

"_Come on, Kammie. I know you can do it. You can always do it. You're the best fighter I know. Fight it! Open your eyes and get up! Don't leave your family to die!" By this point, tears were pouring down Ruth's face and the sheer intensity of everyone's words. She was getting so affected by them that instead of getting up, Ruth seemed to curl in on herself. Ruth hid her face in her hands and looked away from Nefertiri, unable to take any more. Then, Nefertiri's face morphed into Anck-su-namun's. There was a malicious glee in the woman's eyes. _

"_Weak. You are weak and I have beaten you. The great Kamilah. Ha! Look at you… Pathetic. You can't even get up, let alone beat me in a fight. I am going to kill your friend, and it will be all your fault. Just because you couldn't get up." Ruth flinched at the mention of Evie and continued to curl in on herself as Anck-su-namun morphed into Beni. _

"_Oh, Two. You never were as strong as your brother. As hard as you tried, you were never good enough. You will never be good enough. You can't get up." Beni smiled a nasty smile and Ruth tried to move away from him. Then, he morphed into Kamilah's father, Talon._

"_You let me die and now you are doing the same thing to your brother. I knew I never should've left you as the successor. You're a disgrace to the Medjai. I am ashamed of you. Get up, Kamilah! Get up! Are you as weak as everyone says, or can you get up and save your loved ones? Get up!" Talon morphed into Ruth's own father. _

"_This is why I left, you know. You were weak even as a child. I couldn't believe you were my daughter. It seemed like a cruel joke. You're why I left, Ruth. You're weak, pathetic, you can't even save your own brother." He morphed into Kamilah, who immediately scowled down at Ruth._

"_Why you? Why did it have to be you? You can't get up, you can't save your brother. You disgust me. Why you? Why you!" Kamilah morphed into Imhotep, who smirked cruelly down at Ruth._

"_Pathetic little girl. You are nothing like Kamilah. She would get up. She would save her family. The worst part is, you can get up, you just won't." Imhotep smirked down at Ruth as she curled in on herself and cried into her hands. "You're not willing to get up. You won't save your brother. What makes you any better than me?" Ruth screamed, full of anguish and confusion and heartbreak. She had had enough. Why was this happening? Ruth cried as Imhotep laughed. More laughter joined in and soon, mocking laughter was practically suffocating Ruth. People were pointing, scowling, jeering, and laughing. It made the tears stream even harder down Ruth's face and her sobs get harder. What was happening?_

"_Ruth…" It was barely a whisper, but everyone heard it and abruptly fell silent. "Ruth…" With that, everyone disappeared. A figure walked towards the sobbing woman, and she immediately cowered away from it, afraid of the abuse it would throw at her. She knew she was a failure. She knew she was weak. She didn't need anyone else yelling at her about it. _

"Farashatan."_ A hand reached out and gently touched Ruth's shoulder. She wanted to flinch away. She nearly did. But that touch… it was warm… comforting. And that voice… It was familiar. And only one person called her _"Farashatan."

_Ruth lifted her face away from her hands. The tears still in her eyes made her vision blurry, but she blinked a few times and it cleared up. Ardeth was standing next to Ruth, a small smile on his face._

"_Are you going to stay down there all day?" His tone was innocent and teasing. Ruth wasn't amused. _

"_I tried, Ardeth," she said, nearly sobbed. "I can't get up!" She now remembered what had happened. She'd fallen and hit her head. She was trying to wake up. But… it wasn't working. She simply couldn't get up. Ardeth looked down at Ruth and held out a hand for her. Ruth hesitantly took it and Ardeth knelt before her, a sincere look on his face. _

"_Try again," he said. Ruth stared at him for three seconds before nodding. She closed her eyes and tried to stand, but she couldn't. _

"_I can't," Ruth sighed. "I really am weak. I always have been. I always will be." Ruth hung her head. Ardeth's expression grew sad. He put his fingers under her chin and lifted her face. He gently traced the cut on her cheek with his thumb. His touch was so light that Ruth almost didn't feel it. _

"_Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible," he said softly. Ruth's eyes widened a bit at the familiar words. Ardeth smiled softly at Ruth and nodded. Once again, Ruth closed her eyes and tried to get up. The last thing she felt was Ardeth squeezing her hand._

~)8(~

"Hell of a time to take a nap!" That was O'Connell. He was kneeling next to Ruth, glad that he was successful in waking her up. Ruth opened her eyes and sat up quickly, ignoring the rush it sent to her head.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"About ten seconds." Her eyes widened a bit. That whole dream had taken place in ten whole seconds? Ruth didn't have time to dwell on it as O'Connell grabbed her hand and dragged her behind him. The two ran out into the corridor, but were met with more mummy warriors. O'Connell and Ruth abruptly turned and ran in the opposite direction, the mummy warriors hot on their tail. They ran back through the chamber before turning to fight the mummy warriors. However, they weren't there. The mummy warriors were nowhere in sight. O'Connell and Ruth exchanged confused and wary looks, until they heard something land on the ground behind them. The siblings spun around and were met with four mummy warriors. They immediately began to fight.

Ruth began fighting two at once and was doing surprisingly well for only having one sword. The mummy warriors managed to scratch her a few times, but nothing that was big enough to scar once they healed. Ruth managed to behead one and threw the head across the room before resuming her fight with the other one. It took a couple minutes, but Ruth eventually managed to slice him in half and dump him in the pool.

"Hurry up, Jonathan!" Ruth yelled through the chamber. What on Earth was taking him so long? Ruth raised her sword when a mummy warrior suddenly charged her. She immediately began fighting him. However, at one point, Ruth stepped on an incredibly sharp rock, making her trip and cry out. Ruth went sprawling to the ground and her sword flew out of her hand and slid across the floor, out of her reach. Ruth's eyes widened as the mummy warrior came towards her. She had no time to roll out of the way as he raised his khopesh, preparing to strike. As he brought it down, Ruth screamed. She closed her eyes, preparing to feel pain, but it never came. Ruth slowly opened her eyes and saw that the mummy warrior's blade had stopped mere inches from her body. Ruth practically scrambled away and picked up her sword again. She held it up, preparing for another fight, but there wasn't one. Her opponent was not the only mummy to stop. They had all stopped. Ruth heard Imhotep yelling orders at them, but they didn't move to carry them out. In fact, all the mummy warriors did was look at Jonathan. Ruth's eyes widened. Jonathan had finished the inscription. He was in command of the mummies!

In no time, Jonathan ordered the mummy warriors to go after Anck-su-namun, who was still trying to kill Evie. Ruth watched as the mummy warriors viciously attacked Anck-su-namun, and in no time, she was dead once more. Ruth stole a glance at Imhotep. Oh, Lord, he was _not_ happy. Ruth took a few seconds to catch her breath and O'Connell went to attack Imhotep. Ruth watched as her brother cut off Imhotep's arm, making the priest's robes fall off of him. Ruth's eyes widened briefly before she took the opportunity. Ruth darted towards the robes and began rifling through them. Soon, she felt something hard and withdrew the key from within the robes' folds. Ruth looked over briefly to see Imhotep reattaching his arm before going after O'Connell.

"I've got the key, Evie!" Ruth called to her. Jonathan grabbed the Book of Amun-Ra and Ruth quickly unlocked it. Evie ran over to them and called over to O'Connell.

"Keep him busy!" O'Connell was thrown across the room and Ruth winced when she heard him hit the ground.

"I'll go help him," she muttered. With that, she ran off towards Imhotep, grabbing a mummy warrior's fallen dagger. Ruth quickly jumped onto Imhotep's back and drove the dagger into his shoulder. Imhotep thrashed around, trying to throw Ruth off of him. The woman held tight and stabbed him again. It only served to make the Creature even angrier than he already was. He finally managed to throw Ruth off of him and she landed on the ground a little ways away. Imhotep went over to O'Connell and roughly picked him up off of the ground. The Creature was getting ready to consume O'Connell when Evie began to read. Ruth smiled a little as Imhotep looked over at Evie in shock. Soon, the incantation was complete. Ruth looked towards the top of the chamber when she heard the crack of a whip and the whinnying of a horse. Everyone watched as a ghostly carriage charged through the room and towards Imhotep. It passed right through him, seeming to pull something away from him like a bungee cord stretching out. Soon, the bungee cord seemed to snap and the carriage rode away. Whatever the carriage had done to him, it must've been bad, because Imhotep ran after it, screaming and trying to get it to come back. Ruth quickly stood up and grabbed O'Connell's fallen sword as her brother struggled to regain his breath from when Imhotep had been choking him. The four expected Imhotep to keel over, but he did no such thing. In fact, Imhotep simply turned around and began to stalk towards the group.

"I thought you said it was going to kill him!" O'Connell cried. Evie didn't reply and Imhotep came straight towards Ruth. She acted on pure instinct. Ruth stepped forward and drove the sword straight through Imhotep's gut. The Creature's eyes widened and he actually groaned. Ruth felt hot, sticky liquid pooling over her hands. It was blood.

"He's mortal," Evie finally said. Ruth's eyes widened in understanding (she hadn't exactly been paying attention to the incantation). Everyone watched as Imhotep stumbled backward, his hands clutched over his wound. He fell back and into the pool. The souls in it seemed to rise up from the depths and consume the Creature. He began to change before their very eyes, regressing back into the decomposing mummy he had been when they'd unearthed him.

"_Death is only the beginning."_ With one final cry, Imhotep was gone. The Creature was dead.

* * *

Hey! Here is the edited and revised version of Chapter 11! Only two chapters left after this... :( But... we _will_ be getting the sequel by the end of May. So, that's exciting! Love you all!

**Reviews**

SamanthaJane13: Hey :) A fellow Sam! Yay! Here's the next chapter for you! I'm really glad you like this story so much :)  
Guest: Of course there's another chapter :) Hope you like it!  
Adela: Well, here's another chapter for you! I hope you like it :)

Cheerio!


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on April 24, 2016**

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Future**

_Hamunaptra_

There was a rumble and Ruth felt sand start to fall down on her. She looked up and saw that the city was starting to close down. Walls were closing and doors were sealing themselves. Her eyes widened.

"Time to go," O'Connell muttered. Ruth couldn't agree more. O'Connell grabbed Evie's hands and the group began to run. However, not soon after they began running, Jonathan tripped and dropped the Book of Amun-Ra. The book slid across the floor and fell down into a widening chasm. Evie stared in shock and attempted to go after the book. Ruth simply tugged the girl on and the four continued running through the corridors of the collapsing city. Sand was pouring into the city as they ran and they did their best to avoid it. At some points, it was futile. They were literally having sand _dumped_ on them. The four ducked under a closing door and Ruth barely registered what chamber they were in. It was a large treasure chamber.

"Couldn't we just-" Jonathan tried as he paused to gaze at the treasure. Evie ran back for him and grabbed his hand.

"No, Jonathan!" she cried. The four began running again.

"O'Connell! Two!" The four made it out of the chamber in time to hear this. It was Beni. He was alive! Beni began crawling under the lowering ceiling, making his way towards them. O'Connell and Ruth ducked down, reaching their hands out for him. Ruth may not have liked him, but she didn't think he deserved to be trapped in a collapsing city. However, that's exactly what happened. Beni wasn't fast enough and the opening closed. Beni was trapped inside the City of the Dead.

"Goodbye, Beni," O'Connell and Ruth said at the same time. Then, they all started running again. Then, Ruth stopped, horror flooding her entire being.

"Where's Ardeth?!" O'Connell didn't answer. He merely grabbed her hand and forced her to start running again. "Rick! Where's Ardeth?" He still said nothing and he continued to drag his sister behind him. Ruth continued to scream and yell, even tried to stop and go back and look for the Medjai Chieftain, but Rick wouldn't let her go. Eventually, she gave up and resumed running.

Ruth could barely think as she ran. Her raw, bloody wrists and ankles were throbbing. So were the bottoms of her feet. She was sure they were pretty cut up. Based on the pain in her bicep, she had popped her stitches again. But never mind that. Where was Ardeth? Was he okay? What had happened?

It wasn't long after they'd left the treasure chamber that the group of four escaped into the blazing sun of the Sahara. Ruth had never felt more thankful for fresh air than she did in that moment. They had left the city, but Hamunaptra was still collapsing in on itself. They couldn't stop. Columns and stone walls everywhere were falling and crumbling to the ground. The group was at constant risk of being flattened by falling stone. The sand was shifting underneath their feet, making it extremely hard to run. It didn't help that the sand was scalding on Ruth's bare feet. However, the four never stopped running. They all ran like their lives depended on it, because, in fact, their lives did depend on it. Once the four were a safe distance away, they turned and watched as the city fell in on itself. Sand and rock flew and fell everywhere, causing disaster beyond anything Ruth had ever seen. Within seconds, it all stopped and a deafening silence filled the air. Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, was destroyed.

Jonathan suddenly screamed, making O'Connell, Evie, and Ruth cry out. What now? Everyone whirled around and saw someone retracting their hand from Jonathan's shoulder. Ruth's eyes widened. It was Ardeth! He was alive! Ruth couldn't help the beam that overcame her face, her feelings for him swelling through her entire being. Oh, yeah, she was falling for him. She hadn't realized just how fast or hard she was falling for him until she realized that she may have lost him. Not to mention that strange dream she'd had when she was knocked out.

Speaking of the dream, Ruth had figured it out. She knew what it was. It was a pep talk. Her subconscious' way of telling her to get her butt up. It was curious, though, how out of everyone she cared about in the dream, Ardeth was the one to truly support her and help her through it. Oh, yeah, Ruth was falling for him.

"You have earned the respect and the gratitude of me and my people," Ardeth told the group of four with a smile. He sat atop a camel and the four looked up at him.

"Yes, well, it was nothing. It was nothing," Jonathan said, waving off the praise. Ruth couldn't help but roll her eyes a little bit at him.

"May Allah smile upon you always," Ardeth continued. He kissed his hand and touched the hand to his forehead. Ruth smiled at the blessing.

"And… yourself," Jonathan replied. Ardeth suddenly turned his head and his gaze locked with Ruth's. As always, the woman felt herself begin to drown in those deep eyes of his. Ruth waited, expecting him to say something. No, she _wanted_ him to say something. But, Ardeth merely nodded his head towards Ruth, a soft smile on his face. Then, he rode off on his camel. Ruth did her best to bite back her disappointment. She had been really hoping for a little more than a nod of the head. Then again, she had absolutely no right to expect anything else from the warrior. She was the one who had feelings for him, not the other way around.

"He's just… leaving us," Jonathan moaned. Ruth rolled her eyes and sat down, the heat of the sand being more than her feet could take now. Ruth ripped off the sleeves of her tunic and slid them over her feet, in a sort of makeshift sock. At least it would protect her cut up feet from the heat and the sand.

Jonathan continued to stare off in the direction Ardeth had left. He was leaving them! Jonathan laughed humorlessly.

"Well, I guess we go home empty-handed… again," he complained.

"I wouldn't say that," O'Connell said softly. Ruth looked up at him and saw him gazing softly at Evie. Ruth smiled as the two drew closer to each other. Then, the two kissed. Ruth's smile widened, truly happy for the pair. She turned her gaze away to give the couple a moment of privacy.

"Oh, please," Jonathan moaned with a roll of his eyes. O'Connell and Evie merely continued kissing.

"Hey, why is he coming back?" Jonathan suddenly asked. Ruth's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she looked up. Ardeth was riding back towards them, looking like a man on a mission. Soon, Ardeth was dismounting his camel and Ruth stood up again.

"Forget something?" she asked in half confusion and half amusement. She honestly had no idea why he had come back. However, she couldn't resist the opportunity to tease him a little bit about it.

Ardeth didn't answer Ruth. He didn't say anything to any of them. He simply strode towards Ruth, purpose in his every step. Ruth felt her eyes widen slightly as he drew closer and closer to her. Ruth had no time to react as Ardeth took her face in his hands and lowered his face to hers. A second later, his lips met hers.

Ruth was certainly surprised, not having been expecting this. She stood there with her eyes wide open for a split second before shutting them and grasping Ardeth's robes, bringing him closer to her. Ardeth's lips were soft against Ruth's, moving against them as if they were the most precious things in the world. Ruth slowly moved her hands to rest on his shoulders and she stood up on her tippy-toes. Ardeth leaned down a little to meet her. One of his hands slid to the back of her neck and the other gently stroked the cut on her cheek. Ruth had been kissed before, but never like this. So softly, so sweetly, so… lovingly. A few seconds later, the pair pulled apart, their lips gently parting. Ruth kept her eyes closed and she felt Ardeth's hot breath wash over her.

"Ruth Mable O'Connell!" Ardeth and Ruth jumped away from each other, but Ruth couldn't help a small giggle.

"Always with the middle name," she muttered to herself. However, everyone heard it. Jonathan outright laughed and Evie was giggling behind a hand. O'Connell was not amused. Not at all. Ardeth stepped forward, probably to say something to O'Connell, but Ruth put a hand on his middle, stopping him.

"Leave it," she said. _For now,_ she mentally added. "He may be my protective older brother but it's technically none of his business. Besides, you're not the one in trouble." The glare O'Connell was sending towards Ardeth suggested otherwise.

"_Leave it,"_ Ruth repeated, this time in Arabic. _"I'll deal with Rick."_

"_I must return to my people and report what has happened here to the Elders. But we _will_ meet again. I promise you that,"_ Ardeth told Ruth while gently grasping her hand.

"_I look forward to it."_ Ruth smiled a little bit at Ardeth, but frowned when he merely gave her a thoughtful look. Ardeth reached into his robes pocket and seemed to grasp something within.

"_Turn around and close your eyes."_ Ruth furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but did as he asked. Ruth felt Ardeth move her hair over one of her shoulders. A few seconds later, she felt his fingers brush the skin on the back of her neck. There was a small weight settling on her chest.

"_Open your eyes."_ Ruth opened her eyes and looked down at her chest. Ruth had never been so shocked in her life when her gaze fell upon the necklace Ardeth had gifted her with. It was the gold butterfly necklace from the jewelry booth at the bazaar in Cairo.

"_How…?"_ Ruth breathed as she spun around to face Ardeth. He looked a little sheepish.

"_I stopped at the bazaar to gather some supplies before going to meet with Terence. I accidentally overheard the conversation between you and the vendor. And when I saw the necklace, I couldn't help myself. The necklace just seemed… _meant _for you. I vowed that I would find a way to give it to you someday,"_ Ardeth told her. He then smiled softly at her. _"It seems fate has allowed more than that."_ Ruth stared up at him in complete shock. Then, she practically knocked him over with the force of her embrace. Ruth wrapped her arms around his neck and after recovering from his shock, Ardeth wrapped his arms around her waist just as tightly. Ruth buried her face in his chest, taking in his musky scent. Ardeth put his nose in her hair, relishing in the fact that it felt as soft as it looked.

"_Ardeth… I love it,"_ Ruth said quietly. Then, she gently pulled back. _"Thank you." _Ardeth removed his arms from around her waist and grasped her hands. Ardeth stared at Ruth sincerely as he raised one of her hands to his lips. He kissed her knuckles softly, his beard and mustache pleasantly rough against her skin in contrast.

"Until we meet again, _farashat alssahra'_." With one last look at her, Ardeth slowly released Ruth's hands, mounted his camel, and rode off. Ruth watched him go, gently touching the butterfly sitting on her chest. When Ardeth was finally out of sight, Ruth steeled herself for what was to come and turned to face her friends. Evie was beaming. Jonathan was smirking. O'Connell… well… He looked like he was about to choke in either surprise or anger, quite possibly both.

"Wha-? Why? What?" Ruth winced as O'Connell's voice rose to a yell.

"Go, Ruth!" Jonathan cheered, cutting O'Connell off. Ruth laughed out loud.

"But-"

"Oh, Rick, let it go," Evie told him. Ruth smirked a bit as he obeyed almost immediately. God, he had it bad for her. Then again, Ruth wasn't any better when it came to Ardeth. O'Connell shot his sister a look, a look promising that they would talk about this later. Then, he turned and climbed up onto a camel. Evie climbed up onto the same one and Jonathan mounted another. Ruth begrudgingly mounted her own camel (as there were no horses). Then, the four began to ride away from Hamunaptra.

"Hey, Ruth?" Evie asked after about five minutes. Ruth looked at her best friend. "Ardeth… he called you something back there. _Farashat alssahra'_." The Arabic words sounded foreign in Evie's mouth. "What does it mean?" Ruth smiled a little and gently touched the necklace now adorning her neck.

"Desert butterfly."

~)8(~

_Four Days Later  
__Cairo_

Ruth walked around her flat. Four days had passed since the whole Hamunaptra ordeal. It had taken a day to get back to Cairo, but they'd made it. Then, Ruth had spent the next day sleeping. She had spent yesterday cleaning her flat from when she'd practically torn through all her books looking for the reference to Amunet. For the first time in her life, she'd wished she hadn't had so many books. It had taken a long time and a lot of energy, but Ruth had managed to sort all her books and put them away. Today was spent doing her real job. Ruth had gotten up at her normal time and sat down at her desk before plowing through the rest of Sophia's letters. It was now a little past midday and Ruth was re-reading one of the last letters in the set.

_My dear Cyrus,_

_It has been many moons since we have last seen each other. I am beginning to fear I shall never see you again. My father has become ever-so-strict about where I go, when I go, and whom I go with. I only wish he could understand what I feel… what we feel._

_I write with news, Cyrus. I have a secret and I fear I will not be able to keep it from my father much longer. He is constantly checking on me, and I grow bigger every day. I am with child, Cyrus. Your child. _

_I only wish I could tell you in person, but I fear I will never be able to truly see you again. It has been five months now. I knew I could not wait any longer to tell you. I apologize, my love. I understand if you do not want the child, and I will not stop you if you wish to cut off all contact. But know that I will always love you. Always._

_Love,_

_Melitta_

Ruth put down the letter and wiped the moisture from her eyes. The letters had grown increasingly passionate and this one had been almost heartbreaking for her to read. It was so beautiful and sad at the same time. These two people who loved each other so much were being kept apart. It wasn't fair in any way. Then again, the same could be said about Imhotep and Anck-su-namun. However, as far as Ruth could tell, Melitta was no one's mistress. Her father had only disapproved of the relationship. That changed things a little bit. Plus, as far as Ruth could tell, Cyrus and Melitta weren't murderers either. That also changed things a bit.

Ruth folded the letter back up and gently tied the entire stack up with twine. Ruth then slid the photographs and the translations into a large folder. Ruth then went to her living room and made a quick call. Within ten minutes, Ruth was slipping on boots and a jacket. She threw her hair into a quick bun, tucked a knife down her boot, and a gun down the back of her pants, before grabbing the letters and folder and leaving her flat.

Ruth walked down the streets of Cairo, remembering how very recently, she'd been in an insane car chase on these very streets. Oh, fond memories. Ruth shook her head a little and continued walking. She had called Sophia and they were meeting at the same restaurant they'd first met at. Ruth was about five minutes away when she heard someone calling her name.

"Ruth!" The woman turned to see her brother running up to her. Ruth smiled. "Where you headed?"

"A restaurant just up the way. I'm meeting a client." Rick frowned as they started walking.

"I didn't know you did private consultations," he said.

"I normally don't, but work's been a little slow lately. I was referred to her by Dr. O'Hara at the Museum of Egyptian Treasures and she got in contact with me, asking if I could translate some Ancient Greek letters for her." O'Connell smiled. Just like his little sister to always keep busy. Just like his little sister to help people out. She had always been like that, even when she was younger. O'Connell threw his arm around her shoulders as they walked.

Ruth smiled as her brother put his arm around her, but suddenly frowned, remembering their argument. Ruth gently stepped away from her brother and refused to make eye contact with him.

"Ruth, what's wrong?" O'Connell asked, suddenly worried.

"I'm sorry," Ruth said. O'Connell's face fell. He instantly knew what she was talking about.

"It's okay, Ruthie."

"No, it's not, Ricky," Ruth insisted, stopping to fully face him. "What I said was… horrible, and _wrong_ in every way. I said you always took the easy way out. I said you've always done what's best for you. It wasn't true. If it were, I would be dead for sure." O'Connell's eyes widened.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"If you had done what was best for you, I would be dead," Ruth repeated. "You stayed with me, even when you were old enough to leave, you stayed for me. When I was sick, you were always with me. I don't think I would've pulled through if you weren't by my side the entire time. There were so many times during my childhood where you could've left, but you never did. You stayed. For me." O'Connell had a look on his face that suggested he didn't know how to respond to that. "Thank you, Rick."

"Anything for you, Ruth," O'Connell told her honestly. Ruth's eyes widened a bit, as if she were realizing for the first time just how much her brother cared about her. Ruth stepped forward and hugged her brother tightly.

"I love you, Rick." O'Connell wrapped his arms around his baby sister and squeezed her tight.

"I love you, too, Ruth." After a few more seconds, the siblings broke apart and continued walking through Cairo. There were a few minutes of silence before O'Connell cleared his throat.

"Ruth, uh… This… Medjai warrior guy-"

"Ardeth," Ruth cut in, unable to help herself. She knew what was coming, and she knew she couldn't put it off any longer.

"Yeah, him." Rick looked like he'd eaten something sour. "Are you happy?" Ruth paused and looked at him. Well, that hadn't been what she was expecting at all.

"What?" Ruth gaped.

"Are you happy?" O'Connell repeated, looking at his sister seriously. Ruth's face relaxed into a soft smile and she nodded.

"Yes, Rick. I am. I really am." O'Connell nodded. That was enough for him. However, if Ardeth hurt his baby sister in any way, shape, or form, he would not hesitate in unloading his guns into him.

"Good." And with that, the subject was closed. Not thirty seconds later, O'Connell and Ruth arrived at the restaurant. Sophia was walking up right at the same time from the opposite direction.

"Ruth!" Sophia called, a smile spreading across her face. Ruth smiled as well and waited for the woman to meet her at the front of the restaurant. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Ruth replied. "And yourself?"

"I'm great!" Sophia said enthusiastically. Ruth laughed a little and made to move into the restaurant when she saw Sophia glancing at O'Connell questioningly. "Oh, wow, I'm rude. Sophia, this is my older brother Rick. Rick, this is Sophia Castellanos. She's the woman I translated the Ancient Greek letters for." Sophia and O'Connell exchanged a polite handshake.

"Your sister has done a wonderful thing for me and my family, Mr. O'Connell," Sophia told him. O'Connell smiled.

"Yeah, that's Ruth," he agreed. Sophia smiled and nodded.

"Are you joining us for lunch?" she asked.

"Oh, no," O'Connell said. "I have to go meet with Evie."

"His _girlfriend_," Ruth whispered conspiratorially to Sophia. The woman stifled a snicker as O'Connell rolled his eyes.

"It was nice to meet you," he said politely. "See you, Ruth." O'Connell gave his sister a little squeeze before continuing on down the streets of Cairo.

"Shall we?" Ruth asked, turning to Sophia.

"We shall." The two women smiled and walked into the little restaurant together. They were quickly given a small table by the window and they ordered drinks (tea for Sophia and water for Ruth). The two women made small talk for a little while and ordered their food (A pasta dish for Sophia and macaroni béchamel for Ruth). Then, Ruth placed the stack of letters and the folder of photographs and translations down on the table.

"You finished?" Sophia asked. It had been two weeks ago when she had first met Ruth and asked her to translate those letters. She knew that Ruth wasn't currently all that busy, but there were a _lot_ of letters. Two weeks seemed like such a short period of time to get them all translated.

"I finished," Ruth confirmed with a nod and a small smile. Sophia's gaping mouth slowly turned up into a smile. She gingerly took the letters and put them in her bag before taking the folder. Sophia seemed to steel herself before looking into it.

"Why are there photographs of the letters?" she asked.

"Well," Ruth said clearing her throat a bit, "I recently got back from a short expedition and I didn't want to bring the letters with me and run the risk of them getting ruined or damaged. So, I took photos of them and the letters stayed locked in my flat."

"Thank you for that," Sophia said after a second. She truly was thankful for that. Not many people would have that kind of consideration. "Where was this expedition?" Ruth took a bite of her freshly delivered meal.

"Well, um…" How could she explain to Sophia that she and her brother and their friends found the mythical Hamunaptra only to awaken a cursed Priest who tried to sacrifice Evie and Ruth's lives for his love and their daughter? "It was down in Thebes." Ruth hated lying, but she eventually decided it was best to. Lord, she felt like Jonathan, using "Thebes" as an excuse.

"Oh, and how was it?" Sophia asked, genuinely curious. Ruth shrugged a bit.

"Excruciatingly boring. We didn't really find anything. However, it gave me time to translate the letters." Sophia smiled.

"Lucky me." Ruth smiled and nodded as well. From then on, she and Sophia made small talk. They talked about their families some more and Ruth told Sophia about London, as she had never been there before and was curious. They were waiting for their checks when Sophia suddenly brought up something Ruth hadn't even considered.

"So, how much are you charging for this job?" Sophia asked. Ruth's eyes widened a bit in shock. Money. Payment. Truthfully, she hadn't even thought about it.

"You don't have to do that," Ruth said, meaning every word of it.

"I really do," Sophia insisted. "This is a tremendous thing you've done for my family. We are prepared to pay you for your services."

"I'm serious, Sophia," Ruth said, making the woman pause. "It was an honor and a joy to read and translate your family's letters. They were… amazing. I wanted to help. You don't owe me anything." Sophia pursed her lips.

"If you won't accept payment then can you let me buy lunch?" Ruth smiled.

"Yeah, I think I can do that." The women smiled and laughed a bit, glad they had finally reached a decision. The women resumed their chatter, still waiting for the bill and finishing up their drinks. Sophia was laughing at something Ruth had said when she froze. Sophia's eyes were wide and she was looking at something behind Ruth.

"Ruth…" Sophia hissed. "Don't look now, but it's that guy!"

"What?"

"The guy from last time. The guy that was staring at you." Ruth's eyes widened and she practically whirled around in her seat. Sure enough, Ardeth Bay himself was standing about ten feet away, seemingly looking for someone. Then, as if he could feel Ruth staring at him, he turned and their gazes locked. A small smile arose on Ardeth's face as he made his way over to her table. Ruth, on the other hand, was trying not to smile like an idiot. And Sophia was staring, her jaw slightly slack. Ardeth strode up to the table and nodded his head at Ruth, his smile widening ever-so-slightly.

"Hello, Ruth," he greeted.

"Hi." Ruth felt like an idiot, but that's all she could manage at the moment. Ardeth suddenly turned to Sophia.

"I apologize for interrupting," he told her. "I was wondering if I might borrow Ruth. That is, if you're not busy." Sophia finally seemed to snap out of her surprise and a small smirk curled up on her lips.

"Not at all," she told him. "We were just finishing up, actually. She is _all_ yours." Sophia shot a saucy wink towards Ruth, making the woman flush bright red. When Sophia had told Ruth to go for it two weeks ago, she hadn't expected the woman to actually do so. And Ruth, she hadn't at all been expecting that that man Sophia had teased her about last time they were here, would end up being the man she was falling for.

"Thank you," Ardeth told her. He seemed oblivious to Sophia's smugness and Ruth's embarrassment. He held out his hand for Ruth and the woman slowly took it. Ruth stood and made to leave with Ardeth before suddenly turning back to Sophia.

"Let me know when you leave Cairo. That way we can get together again before you leave." Sophia's smirk turned into a genuine smile.

"Definitely." And with that, Ruth allowed Ardeth to lead her from the restaurant. The two walked towards Ruth's flat in silence. It wasn't until they were inside that they finally spoke to each other.

"Did you want tea?" Ruth asked. "I promise it won't taste like blood this time." Ardeth chuckled a bit, but declined.

"So, what brings you to Cairo?" Ruth continued, sitting down on her couch. As much as she would've liked to believe so, she knew better than to think Ardeth was here simply because he wanted to see her. Maybe, just maybe, that was part of it, but Ruth knew he was more than likely here on business.

"With Terence gone, we need to finish up some things." Ruth nodded sadly. Rick had told her about how Dr. Bey had sacrificed himself so he, Jonathan, and Ardeth could escape down a manhole. As stern and uptight as the man could be, Ruth would miss him. "The museum needs a new curator and we're looking to place someone else there."

"Just how many museums in how many cities are the Medjai involved in?" Ruth asked, half in amusement and half in genuine curiosity. Ardeth smiled a bit.

"More than you would think," he answered. He wasn't willing to lie to Ruth, but he couldn't just share Medjai business and secrets with her either. Ruth nodded, accepting his answer and knowing he probably couldn't tell her more than that. The Medjai were technically a secret society after all.

"And…" Ardeth continued. Ruth cocked her head a bit, wanting him to continue. "I wanted to see you." Ruth blushed, but couldn't contain her smile.

"I wanted to see you, too," she admitted softly. Ardeth smiled, a true smile, and squeezed her hand, which he had never let go of from the restaurant. Suddenly, Ardeth turned serious.

"Your hands…" He stared at them in concern and gently pushed Ruth's sleeves up her arms. Ruth frowned and tried to pull away from him, but he held tight. "What happened?"

"Um…" Ruth hesitated, but decided that telling Ardeth the truth was best. "When Evie and I were shackled down there, ready to be sacrificed, Rick and Jonathan wouldn't have shown up in time. Imhotep would've killed Evie, but… I managed to… get my hands out of the shackles and knock him away from her. Then, Rick and Jonathan showed up."

"You… tore your hands from their shackles?" Ardeth asked, shocked that Ruth had been able to do such a thing, let alone actually do it.

"My wrist and ankles are fine, they just-"

"And ankles?" Ruth winced. She hadn't meant to tell him that.

"Ardeth, they're fine. I'm fine. I promise." Ardeth still looked at Ruth in concern, but nodded and changed the subject.

"Your brother… Is he-"

"He's okay," Ruth cut in. "He's okay with it. Well… not exactly _okay_ with it, but he's agreed to leave it alone."

"Really?" Ardeth looked shocked, as if he had been expecting Rick to either give him a huge protective older brother talk, or attack him. Ruth smirked.

"Rick is currently with my best friend. Trust me, what you'd get from him is nothing compared to what he'd get from me if he hurts her." Ardeth's lips quirked up and he chuckled. He had no trouble believing that. That was Ruth, his _farashat alssahra'_. Fierce like the desert, yet gentle (sometimes) and beautiful like a butterfly.

"How long are you staying in Cairo?" Ruth then hesitantly asked.

"A few days, maybe a week, but no longer," Ardeth admitted. Ruth looked a little put out at that. "Ruth… if this… whatever this is, is going to work, then you need to understand something." Ruth turned to fully face him, giving him her undivided attention. "Life with me… The life of a Medjai is a hard one full of secrets. I wouldn't be able to share much of anything with you. And I spend most of my time with my people doing our duty. I wouldn't be able to stay here in Cairo for more than a month at a time, and only after spending several weeks with my people." Ardeth grew a little concerned when Ruth seemed unusually understanding.

"I'm actually the same way," she admitted. "I work for the British Museum. I split my year between Cairo and London, six months in each city. I _have_ been thinking about making the permanent move to Cairo, but it won't happen for at least another year." Ardeth's eyes widened. He knew that she was a translator and linguist, but he'd had no idea that her job made her split her time between cities. It seemed they were very much in the same situation.

Ardeth and Ruth both practically sighed with relief, glad that they'd gotten that out of the way. Their work was very important to the both of them. Ardeth had been raised to be Chieftain of the Medjai and Ruth had worked _so_ hard to get herself to where she was. She wasn't about to just give that up. So, with that out of the way, the two leaned in and their lips gently touched.

Once again, Ardeth's lips were soft against Ruth's, his facial hair pleasantly scratchy in contrast. The kiss was unbearably soft. Ardeth kept a hold of one of Ruth's hands and raised his other to her face, gently stroking her nearly healed cut. Ruth nearly smiled against his lips as she felt his caress. She gently rested her hand on his shoulder and the two continued to kiss, glad that the air between them had been cleared. It would be interesting, and it would most certainly be difficult, but both the warrior and the translator couldn't help but think of their future together. _Their_ future. _Together_.

* * *

Hey all! This is the last chapter for the night :( BUT, this is not the last chapter for the story! There is still one more to go! I'll try to get that up within the next week, and then we'll have the sequel by the end of May. Love you all!

Cheerio!


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on July 12, 2016**

* * *

**Chapter 13: It Is True**

_1 Week Later _

_Ruth stared down at herself. She was still herself. That meant this was either another memory-sharing session with Kamilah or this was something completely new. Ruth sighed, really starting to get tired of this. It was getting old fast and she still had no idea how she was related to or connected to Kamilah besides that they looked eerily similar. It had been several days, nearly two weeks, since the last time she had spoken with Kamilah. Ruth longed to ask the Egyptian woman what was going on, but she knew that Kamilah would not answer. She had to "learn those answers for herself." _

_The scene in front of Ruth was pretty simple. She was smack dab in the middle of what looked like a Medjai camp. The only reason she could guess it was a Medjai camp was because Asim was visible about ten feet away. Soon, Kamilah appeared and approached him. The two began talking, but Ruth could not hear them, so she continued to look around. Many warriors were gathered around fires or sitting on the ground. They seemed to be in the middle of a meal. _

_Ruth was confused. If this wasn't a significant event in Kamilah's life, then why the hell was she seeing this? There was no reason for her to be shown something that didn't really… help her decipher their interesting relationship. _

_Ruth could hear the rush of a river to her left. She looked over. The Nile was barely in sight. Ruth knew that no one could see her so she didn't bother hiding her scowl. She was a very healthy distance away from the rushing water, but she still hated that river. _

_Still… Ruth couldn't help but wonder what she was doing here. There wasn't an obvious reason for why she was being shown this specific moment in Kamilah's life. The past two had had reasons behind them. The first was to introduce Kamilah and her role in the society she lived in. The second was to further get to know Kamilah, to see the lowest point in her life. So what was this? And where was Kamilah? Ruth looked around, but the woman was nowhere to be found outside of the scene. Maybe she was on her own this time. _

_Suddenly, bandits burst out of the shadows and attacked. The Medjai were unexpecting, but prepared. All of them still had their weapons on them, just like O'Connell, Ardeth, and Ruth were always carrying, no matter where they were. _

_The bandits soon began to overpower the Medjai due to their surprise attack. The number of bandits was about even to the number of Medjai, maybe a little less than them. Ruth watched the battle unfold around her and eventually, the Medjai began to gain back the upper hand. They were prevailing. Ruth looked around and found Asim fighting two bandits at once some twenty feet away from her. But Kamilah… the woman was nowhere to be found. And if Kamilah was anything like Ruth, she was not one to miss out on or hide during a fight. So where was she? Slight panic began to fill Ruth. She didn't actually know when Kamilah died. Was this… This couldn't be it. Could it? _

_Ruth didn't have to worry. She soon spotted Kamilah fighting someone who looked like the bandit leader. Judging from Kamilah's appearance, she wasn't quite of age yet, but very close. Maybe one year away, making her 17 years old. She wasn't quite as good at combat as Ruth knew her to be, but she was still very good. Her fighting was much like her father's. Swift, fierce, yet full of finesse. Kamilah was holding her own very well against the older and stronger bandit leader. _

_Kamilah and the bandit fought each other and every time Kamilah was hit, something strange happened to Ruth. When the Egyptian woman was hit in the gut, Ruth slumped and began to breathe heavily. Her hand darted to clutch her stomach, as if she were being pained by the ghost of an old injury. But… Kamilah had been the one to get hit. So why was Ruth feeling her pain as if it had been her own? This happened every single time Kamilah was hit, and Ruth was getting more and more confused and scared the more pain she experienced. Soon, the bandit began pushing Kamilah back towards the Nile. Ruth's eyes widened as the two came scarily close to the bank. _

_The bandit seemed to suddenly explode with pent up anger, releasing all of it on Kamilah in a series of strong and fast hits and blows. Ruth's eyes widened and she ran towards Kamilah as she took a particularly hard blow to the head. Ruth staggered as pain flooded her head, and watched as Kamilah fell to the ground, unconscious. The wound on her head was bleeding, but not fatally so. The bandit smirked in triumph before picking up the teen and dumping her into the Nile. _

"_No!" Ruth heard. She didn't turn around. She heard the clashing of swords and after about a minute, she heard someone falling to the ground. However, she still didn't move. She couldn't move. She knew this was not when Kamilah died, but that's not what was bothering her. It was the event itself. It was eerily similar to how Ruth had gained her fear of rivers and rushing water. Ruth couldn't believe this was happening. The Nile rushed past and finally, Ruth snapped out of her thoughts and began running alongside the water. Ruth knew she couldn't save her. Here in the dream world, she couldn't be seen or touched. Plus, this was a memory. Ruth couldn't alter anything. She was here to watch. Ruth heard a splash and turned in time to see the waters rippling. Someone had jumped into the Nile… or someone had been thrown in. _

_Ruth watched in worry. No one surfaced and she began to lose hope. Why on Earth would she be shown this? Had Kamilah shared Ruth's fear of the Nile and this was when that fear manifested itself in her? _

_Right as that thought crossed Ruth's thoughts, someone surfaced from the water. It was a man judging by the size of the person. Kamilah was in his arms. Ruth couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as she watched him lay her down on the sand. He began shaking her and trying to get her to wake up. Kamilah didn't move. The man was clearly distressed, but Ruth couldn't see their face. She could tell from their frame that it was not Asim. Then who was it? _

_The man continued trying to get Kamilah to wake up. He continued shaking her, yelling at her, even going as far as the hit her on the chest out of frustration. Ruth laughed out of relief when his doing that caused Kamilah to wake up, coughing and sputtering. The girl quickly sat up and leaned over, coughing up water from her lungs. When she was finally done, the man crushed Kamilah in a hug. The woman was tense, unsure who this was and why they were embracing her. It took a few seconds, but she eventually hugged him back very lightly. Maybe it was one of her men. _

"_Thank you," she whispered. Ruth could see the fear and relief on her face. She was probably realizing how close to death she had come. She was realizing that had that man not rescued her, she'd be dead. Ruth turned around and saw the bandit lying dead in the sand. The man must've killed him in their fight. After a few more seconds, the man let go of Kamilah and turned to leave. _

"_Wait!" Kamilah called. The man faltered in his walk slightly, but kept going, his robes billowing behind him. "Wait, please!" He didn't and Ruth ran after him. Kamilah would be fine now. Ruth managed to get in front of the man and gasped loudly when she saw his face. Ruth abruptly stopped in her steps out of pure shock. The man stopped walking as well. He turned back and looked at Kamilah. She was now walking back towards the Medjai camp. From the looks of it, they had defeated the bandits. The man let out a sigh._

"_Goodbye, sister," he said. With that, he turned and walked away, further and further into the vast desert before them. Ruth felt terrible. Well, no, terrible was the right word for it. In fact, she had no idea what she felt. She didn't know if she felt anything at all, or if she was feeling so many things at once that she just couldn't discern between all of the different emotions. That man… it was Rick. Ruth knew that Rick strongly resembled Kamilah's older brother, Jabari, but to see it in person… it was way different. _

_Kamilah had just been saved by the older brother she hadn't seen since she was eight years old. _

_Ruth knew that Jabari had abandoned the Medjai, not wanting to take part in the life they lead. He had left at the age of 16. Kamilah hadn't seen or heard from him since, even when Talon had been killed. He had gone out to find a life of his own. She'd never stated it, but Ruth knew that Kamilah blamed herself, and assumed her brother just didn't love her anymore. God, she had idolized Jabari and he had just… left. Looking on it now, Ruth could see how untrue it all was. She had no idea why Jabari was there, or if he had been keeping tabs on his sister ever since he'd left. But… he had just saved her life, crying and screaming for her to wake up and come back to him. If he didn't love her, he wouldn't have come back at all, let alone have saved her. And the look on his face when he said goodbye, it was the face of a broken-hearted man. He missed her. He wanted to come back. But… he knew he couldn't. He had made his decision and no matter how much Kamilah wanted him back, the Medjai would never accept him back into their society. _

_There was one thing niggling at the back of Ruth's mind as she thought about all of this. When Jabari had left, he had been sixteen, and Kamilah had been eight. It was the same ages Rick and Ruth had been when Ruth had fallen ill and Rick refused to leave her, no matter what. It was interesting, how the two situations seemed to parallel each other. Very interesting. _

_Ruth felt her eyes get misty as she watched Jabari walk away. She couldn't help but wonder if Kamilah had ever found out who had saved her. Who did she think it was? A bandit trying to change his ways? A random stranger? Was she even curious about it at all? _

_The scene and landscape began to melt and shift before Ruth's very eyes. It was the middle of the day. The sun was directly above Ruth in the sky, shining down harshly upon the desert landscape. Medjai were surrounding Ruth, each of them on horses. They were riding towards a distant dwelling. It was Seti's palace. As they rode, they passed little farms and families. Ruth looked around a bit, and eventually spotted Kamilah. She was riding in the middle with her men. She looked even younger than last time, maybe 15 years old. As Kamilah rode on, Ruth saw a farmer and his two sons herding their cattle a little ways away from them. And suddenly, a snake popped out of nowhere and spooked the cattle. They began to run and stampede. _

_The Medjai broke their horses into gallops as the stampeding herd drew closer and closer. Some men went down and some innocent bystanders were hit, one of them even being a son of the family that was herding the cattle. Ruth watched with baited breath, something niggling at the back of her mind. As the scene continued, her heart grew grave and practically fell to her feet. The thing niggling at the back of her mind was a memory of her own life. _

_Ruth watched as Kamilah went down with a loud cry. She covered her face and flattened herself against the ground in pure terror. The stampede continued above and around her. A part of Ruth worried that Kamilah would be trampled, but she knew that she wouldn't. The young Medjai's horse stood firmly over her and protected her as cattle raced by. Within thirty more seconds, the stampede had passed. Kamilah cautiously raised her head and her horse came to stand beside her. God, that was one loyal horse. _

"_Kamilah!" Asim called. He rushed towards her and hastily, almost sloppily, dismounted as the girl shakily raised herself to her feet. Kamilah was covered in sand and she was severely shaking, but otherwise looked fine. "Are you okay?"_

"_I think so," Kamilah breathed. "Yes, I am fine." Asim shot her an extremely concerned look and Ruth could see just how much he cared about her. Judging by Kamilah's face, she hadn't developed feelings for him yet, or was too shaken from the stampede to display an emotion other than fear. _

"_I am fine," Kamilah insisted upon seeing Asim's completely unconvinced look. The look didn't leave his face, but he conceded with a nod. In the end, only one Medjai was injured by the stampede, and it wasn't a fatal wound. The only casualty was the family's son. It was sad, no doubt, but the Medjai didn't stick around. They had to get to Pharaoh. He had summoned them and they couldn't keep him waiting longer than he already had. The Medjai, including Kamilah and Asim, mounted their horses and continued on to the palace, not even looking back._

_The scene melted once more and Ruth found herself in a familiar setting. It was completely dark around her, a solitary light seeming to hover above her. Ruth looked around and her eyes landed on Kamilah's familiar figure. Kamilah had not yet noticed Ruth. The translator quietly approached her. Then, the setting began to change. Soon, Ruth found she was watching one of her own memories. _

_A 15-year-old Ruth was standing near a riverbank. She was fighting. And she was putting up a good one, too. Three Egyptian teenage guys were ganging up on her, but Ruth was holding her own quite well. But Ruth knew what was coming, and even though she was watching instead of experiencing it, she still couldn't help but cringe a little bit. One of the Egyptian punks that Ruth had knocked down had gotten back on his feet, a wooden plank grasped in his hands. Young Ruth never saw it coming, and within thirty seconds, she was unconscious on the ground. Ruth unconsciously rubbed the back of her head. _

"_Ow…" Kamilah muttered, rubbing the same spot on the back of her head. _

"_The headache was worse," Ruth couldn't help but comment. It was evident that she had startled Kamilah, as the woman had jumped and whirled around in complete surprise. _

"_What are you doing here?" Ruth's eyes widened a bit. _

"_I thought you were showing me these things." Kamilah shook her head. Ruth immediately grew concerned. Kamilah hadn't summoned, so to speak, Ruth. And Ruth had summoned, so to speak, Kamilah. So what had brought the two of them here? What was going on? Ruth and Kamilah had no answers, so they turned back to the scene in front of them. The turned back in time to see the three punks pick up young Ruth and toss her into the rushing river Nile. _

"_No!" And suddenly, a 23-year-old Rick came running. It took about five seconds for him to deliver three hard punches that knocked all three of the punks out. Then, without seemingly a second thought, Rick jumped right into the Nile. He swam downstream, looking more frantic than Ruth had ever seen him. About thirty seconds later, Rick dove down. And soon, he surfaced, an unconscious Ruth in his arms. He managed to drag her onto the bank and began shaking her and yelling at her with all his might, begging her to wake up. After a minute, nothing happened. With an anguished cry, Rick practically punched Young Ruth's chest. And suddenly, Young Ruth began to cough and spit up water, gasping and sputtering with all her might. Rick practically collapsed with relief, his eyes looking unusually wet. He gathered Young Ruth in his arms and the two held onto each other for all it was worth. _

_The scene melted and changed around them. Ruth recognized where they were. It was another one of her memories. It was a local bazaar in Cairo. Ruth was younger in this memory than the last one. This time, she was 10 years old, and Rick was barely 18. Ruth and Kamilah watched in silence as the memory played in front of their eyes. _

_They watched as a teller began to lose control of his camels. They immediately began to run, having been skittish already. It soon turned into a stampede. The camels stampeded through the bazaar, destroying merchandise, knocking into booths and stands, and trampling over people as they went. And Ruth was one of them. This was the day Ruth was nearly trampled. This was the day she developed her fear of camels. The memory passed fairly quickly. And once it was done, the scene melted around them. The darkness returned and the normal light seemed to hover over the two women. _

"_That was…" Kamilah tried. _

"_I know," Ruth agreed. That was awful. And that was putting it mildly. "Were you there for my visions?"_

"_You saw more than your memories?" Kamilah asked. That was obviously a "no". _

"_Yeah. I saw the fight with the Bandit when you were… 17?" Ruth raised her voice at the end of her question, unsure of her age. Kamilah nodded. "I also saw the stampede and how your horse protected you." Kamilah smiled a bit at that. _

"_Yeah, Isis was a good horse," she said. Her face became thoughtful. "But... I never did find out who saved me from the Nile." Ruth smiled a little secretive smile. _

"_Would you like to know?" Kamilah's eyes widened. _

"_You saw who it was?" she asked, her tone extremely hopeful. Ruth nodded, her smile becoming kinder and softer. _

"_Yeah, I did." _

"_Well… who was it?" Ruth had to pause. _

"_I'm not sure you're going to like who it was." _

"_What? Why? Ruth, just tell me." _

"_Well… if you insist," Ruth sighed. "It was Jabari." Kamilah froze for two seconds before she began to laugh._

"_You're kidding, right?" she asked. Kamilah continued laughing, not realizing how serious Ruth was. After a few more seconds, she seemed to figure it out. "Wait… you're serious?" _

"_Why would I lie?" Ruth asked. "You would see right through me." Kamilah nodded a bit, knowing it was true. They were extremely similar. Ruth did not doubt that they had the same habit of playing with their fingers when they lied. _

"_It couldn't have been Jabari," Kamilah insisted, more to herself than Ruth. "It couldn't have been."_

"_Well, it was," Ruth told her kindly. Kamilah's eyes widened a bit. _

"_But… how?" Kamilah breathed. "I haven't seen him since he left, not even here in the afterlife." For some reason, Ruth was not surprised. "Jabari doesn't love me. Why would he save me?" Ruth looked at the woman sadly._

"_Kamilah… your brother did love you. Trust me. I think he loved you more than anything, and that's why he wanted you to come with him when he left." Kamilah sucked in a sharp breath at that. She probably hadn't expected Ruth to know that particular detail. It wasn't that hard to guess. With the way Jabari had saved her and the way Kamilah looked when she thought about her brother… They loved each other more than anything. If Jabari was anything like Rick, there was no way in Heaven and Earth he didn't ask her to come with him when he left. No way. _

_Seeing Kamilah was not going to say anything, Ruth continued. _

"_You didn't see the look on his face that night, Kamilah. After he walked away, I followed him. He whispered goodbye to you with the most heart-broken expression I've ever seen on anyone. When he was trying to wake you up, he was crying. He missed you, Kamilah. But he knew he couldn't come back. The Medjai would never welcome him back." Kamilah's expression fell. She must've known just how true that statement was. _

"_Oh, my God," she breathed. Kamilah sank to the ground and Ruth sat down beside her. Ruth gently rubbed her shoulder in comfort. _

"_If it makes you feel better, I know how you feel," Ruth said kindly. Kamilah scowled a bit. _

"_No you don't," she nearly growled. "Rick never abandoned you." _

"_My father left." Kamilah paused, her expression softening a considerable amount. Ruth guessed she had forgotten about that, or hadn't known at all. _

"_I was only two," Ruth continued, "but I still remember the day he left, how devastated I was, how hard my mother cried, how sad Rick was." _

"_I'm sorry," Kamilah said with a quiet sniff. Ruth wrapped her arm around her shoulder. Kamilah leaned into her a bit. _

"_Me too." The two women sat there in silence for a couple minutes. Then, Ruth spoke again. "Maybe you could look for him."_

"_Who, your father?" Kamilah asked in confusion. _

"_No," Ruth said laughing a bit. "Jabari." _

"_Oh." Kamilah thought about for a couple seconds before a small smile lit up her face. "Yeah, maybe." The two women looked up as the light above them began to fade. The dream was ending. _

"_Bye, Ruth," Kamilah said. Ruth smiled a bit at her simple goodbye. _

"_See you, Kamilah." With that, their world went dark._

~)8(~

Ruth opened her eyes and shot up. Ruth tossed the covers back and ran her hands through her hair, which was damp with sweat. That dream had been draining. Ruth could already feel her lack of energy and lethargy. But despite this, she got out of bed and began to get dressed. She had an idea. An idea about how and why she was connected to Kamilah. How and why Rick was connected to Jabari. How and why Ardeth was connected to Asim. How and why Evie was connected to Nefertiri. It was… far-fetched. _Extremely_ far-fetched. But considering everything that had just happened with Imhotep and Hamunaptra, Ruth was willing to believe just about anything. Ruth finished getting dressed, stuffed a gun down the back of her pants, and left her home. She had to find Evie.

~)8(~

"Evie! Evie, are you here?" Ruth called through the museum. Ruth had gone to her place and Jonathan had told her she was here at the Museum of Antiquities. Ruth felt a little sad while walking through the place. She knew that Dr. Bey was dead, and the manner in which he died was… _horrible_. He'd died saving lives in Cairo. Despite his stern and brusque nature, Ruth had considered the man a friend. She was saddened to walk through his museum knowing that she would never speak with him again.

"Evie!" Ruth called again.

"Ruth?" Evie called back this time, her voice questioning. It had come from the library. Ruth quickly found her way there.

The library was almost spotless. The shelves were back up. Books were ordered and cataloged. Only was shelf was bare and the books that belonged on it were in the center of the room, stacked and organized.

"You've been busy," Ruth observed. Evie flashed her a smile. A very tired smile.

"Yes, I'm almost finished," she told Ruth. "Rich said you got hired for a job by Howard Carter." Ruth blushed a bit. It was true. About five days ago, Ruth had received an interesting offer from the man himself. She honestly hadn't meant to tell Rick about the offer, but he had found the letter. The job as Head Translator included excavation, research, artifact retrieval and translation, and artifact transfer back to London. The British Museum had recommended Ruth to Carter and he'd taken the chance. This was a big step for Ruth and her career, one she was very willing to take, and one both Rick and Ardeth insisted she take. However, Ruth had an ulterior motive as well. The job came with a _very_ hefty paycheck. One that would set Ruth to live a very comfortable life if she chose to never work again after that. While Ruth didn't think she would ever stop working, it could mean Ruth could move to Cairo permanently sooner rather than later.

"Yeah," Ruth breathed, confirming it. "Mr. Carter has asked me to help excavate another find of his." Before Evie could ask any questions, Ruth got down to why she was here in the first place. "Look, Evie, I'm here for more than a social visit. I need your opinion on something."

"What is it?" Evie asked. She turned back to her work, but Ruth knew she was still listening. Ruth bit her lip a bit.

"What's your opinion on reincarnation?" Evie paused and looked up at Ruth in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Do you believe it's possible?" Ruth asked quietly, as if ashamed of her question. Evie frowned upon noticing this and turned fully to her friend. Ruth inwardly sighed with relief when she saw that Evie was taking her seriously.

"Well, scientifically, there are people who can have no relation to each other and look very similar," Evie said.

"Yes?" Ruth said, egging her on.

"But the idea of being reborn into a new life is ludicrous," Evie finished. Ruth sighed.

"Evie, I asked what you believed, not what your head was telling you to say," Ruth said. Evie paused.

"If you had asked me this a month ago I would say I didn't believe in it," Evie said.

"And now?"

"Well," Evie said, hesitating a bit, "after everything that's just happened, reincarnation wouldn't be such a ridiculous notion." This was the closest Ruth was going to get to Evie admitting that yes, she thought it could be entirely possible. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," Ruth said a little too quickly. "It's just something I read about the job with Howard Carter." Evie looked at Ruth a bit, but accepted this and turned back to her work. Ruth began to help her organize the last shelf, but her mind was on her situation with Kamilah.

What if…? Just, what if…? What if she was Kamilah's reincarnation? What if she had been Kamilah in a past life? A month ago, she could've laughed aloud at the thought, but now… Evie was right. After everything that happened with Imhotep and Hamunaptra, reincarnation wasn't that much of a stretch. But, if Ruth was Kamilah, that meant the others were reincarnations as well. Evie was Princess Nefertiri, Kamilah's closest friend. Rick was Jabari, Kamilah's older brother. Ardeth was Asim, the man Kamilah was in love with.

Something Imhotep had said to Ruth in Hamunaptra came to mind, something that made her think all of this could be possible.

~)8(~

"_Ah, so I was correct. You are starting to remember."_

"_Remember what?" Ruth asked in confusion. Kamilah had said something similar to that. It was starting to confuse her. She wasn't remembering anything, merely seeing the events of Kamilah's life. Ruth was surprised when Imhotep let out a mocking laugh._

"_You do not know," he said. He grinned a malicious smile that made Ruth's skin crawl. Imhotep stepped towards her and leaned down right in front of her face. "Which means she does not know either. Or that pesky Medjai warrior. Or your irksome brother. That will make things much easier." Ruth looked up at Imhotep in confusion, not liking that he knew something about herself, Rick, Evie, and Ardeth that she didn't. What was he talking about? What didn't they know?_

~)8(~

Imhotep had known something about Ruth and her friends that she didn't know, and it had made him incredibly smug. Was that it? Was it true? Ruth was the reincarnation of Kamilah and that's why he had chosen her as his sacrifice, to get revenge on her past self? Was it all true?

And then, Ruth heard something. A little voice in the back of her mind. The voice of Kamilah. And she said something that made her blood run cold.

"_Yes. It is true."_

* * *

Hey everyone! That's it! I finally completed this story, well, the edited and revised version of this story. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this process and I hope you all like this story still now that it's a little different than before. Love you all!

**Reviews**

Guest: Here's another chapter for you, but unfortunately, this is the last chapter of the story :( BUT there WILL be a sequel :) Hope you liked the story!  
Lunar678: Yes, I did write more :) And there will be even more to come after this :) Hope you liked the story!  
Kate101: Hi! I'm glad you liked the story! I hope I will be able to get the sequel up very soon.  
Zara Salam: Yeah, 'real' life sucks doesn't it! And wow! That's really cool that that's what your name means. It and your name really are beautiful :) Thank you for reading and reviewing on the story. It means a lot to me :)  
BCgurlie: Thank you :) I'm glad you like the story :)  
ZabuzasGirl: Wow, I'm glad you liked the story :) Oh, and I just posted three reviews to your Sinbad story because I REALLY want you to update it. Kale is amazing :)  
soapandapples: Thank you :) I'm glad you liked this story!  
MistySummerNights: I'm glad you liked the story :) And yes, there will be a sequel, but I don't know how soon :/ I'm about to start rigorous rehearsals and then traveling for four months straight. I'll try, I really will, but it might not happen for a while. I'm so sorry!

Cheerio!


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